And It Never Ends
by DevilPup
Summary: The sequel to LKG. Smitchie is expecting, Janastasia is planning, and Naitlyn is struggling. They thought life was hard, then came reality. Smitchie, Naitlyn, Jason/OC. Third stories in ATCR series.
1. Chapter 1

Finally, the third -and most likely final- installment of the After The Credits Roll series. Well independent stories, anyway. I will still be writing Director's Cut. And, because Becky is an evil genius and I am masochistic, there may be _another_ ATCR styled story/series based off of CR2 (the real movie when it comes out). But at the moment, we have AINE, finally.

We are starting 6 weeks, roughly, after LKG. I have the first five chapters written, and they will be uploaded over the next week or so. It may seem a bit slow at first, but I promise, things _will_ pick up by chapter 4 and definitely chapter 5.

So recap of the end of LKG: Mitchie is pregnant, Riley & Nicky are broken up, Jason & Stas are engaged, Caitlyn & Nate are 'promised', Mitchie is writing again, but still not singing much, Kevin & Savannah broke up.

Kevin will be more prominent in this one along with his new love interest, who will also be more of an important character than Savannah was. She's going to become friends with Mitchie, so…

**Disclaimer**: Bree does not own Camp Rock. BUT she does own Anastasia/Stas, Jacob, Nicky, Kevin, Riley, Naomi, Justin, Cecilia, Shayna, Ethan, JJ, Natalie, Isadora, other characters mentioned in ATCR & LKG, and any other characters that enter.

Warning: This is a sequel to Life Keeps Going, which is the sequel to After The Credits Roll. You may be lost if you don't read those first.

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_After The Credits Roll… Life Keeps Going…_

**And It Never Ends**

Chapter 1:

So while I _know_ you were all hoping we got our happily ever after, I also know you can't _honestly_ tell me you were expecting that to be the end. We had families to tell about their newest member; fans and media to tell as well; a wedding to plan and an engagement to nudge along; school to finish and more albums to write; and teenage siblings to keep on track. And of course, God forbid the press was nice about _anything_.

"When are they gonna start this thing?" I heard a impatient voice drawl. Shane and I were standing off stage, _listening_ to the reporters theories on why they were at a press conference called by the Greys. "We've got deadlines to meet." The voice grumbled.

I let out a nervous, shaky breath. The press wasn't always known for being kind to us and they already seemed impatient. I rubbed my stomach unconsciously, hoping to make some of my anxiety go away.

Shane, of course noticed my unsteady movements. "You sure you can handle this? You don't look too good, baby." He whispered worriedly into my ear while holding me tightly to him.

"I'm fine." I assured him, snapping only slightly. "Beside, if I puke on them, maybe they'll be nicer about the pregnancy. _Popstar's Pregnant Wife Pukes on Press. _What a headline, huh?" I joked, burying my face into the side of his neck, trying to shake off the thoughts of other headlines they'd could come up with.

"Shane, Mitchie, you're on." Stacey informed us a moment later.

Shane nodded to her and pulled back from our embrace. We held hands as we made our way out. I was walking on the inside, away from the reporters, who couldn't see my stomach from that angle.

Silence rumbled through the crowd of eager reporters as they caught sight of us. "Hello, everyone." I greeted nervously as we sat down.

"Many of you are wondering what we've called a press conference for." Shane began. "There's been no bad press that needs addressing or anything."

I smiled and continued. "We have an announcement."

Shane grabbed my hand under the table and gave it a tight squeeze. "Mitchie is expecting our first child in August."

There was a sudden roar of questions flying at us. One of the first questions was from the impatient report we'd heard. "Why not just release a statement?" He asked, not really seeing the major story that would need a press conference.

Shane smiled pleasantly. "We know the media. You all have very creative imagination when you want. We want to avoid as much speculation as possible. This is a very happy time for us, and we don't want false rumors ruining our bliss." He explained simply.

"Shane," Another reporter's voice called out, catching our attention above the rest. "You've been on tour. Are you positive the baby is yours?" They asked smugly.

I looked quite offended at the implication, but Shane just laughed at the woman. Not a reaction I was expecting. "I'm sorry, but that's just a ridiculous thought." He chuckled at her. I gave him the same gawking look the rest of them had.

The reporter threw back, "It's not the first time there's been cheating rumors." My intense gaze turned to glare at the reporter.

Shane smiled, again. "Yes, and those rumors were not only false, but they involved my girlfriend and my best friend, who is like a brother to her. So, if she were cheating on me, the media would automatically link Jason. Except, Jason was on tour with me, and dealing with his own engagement." I shot him a look of what-the-hell-are-you-doing-they're-going-name-Jason-as-the-father.

He winked at me. I glared at him again before I had an idea of my own. "Actually, they _technically_ weren't on tour when I conceived. It was the first night that Shane was home for a break in December for three weeks."

"Mitchie," the next reporter yelled, "Were you trying to get pregnant?" I had to check my eye roll. Of course, _I was trapping him_. Because getting married didn't do that enough already. Pregnancy made me very sarcastic.

I calmly shrugged and shook my head no. "I was actually really stressed from school and anxious about Shane coming home, and I forgot to take my birth control pill."

"Shane, what are you feelings about starting a family so soon?" Someone yelled.

Shane's grin could not have been more convincing of just how happy he truly was. "I couldn't be happier. It was Mitchie's choice to be on birth control. I left our fate up to God. If he thinks it's time for us to start our family, far be it from me to stop that."

"Shane, where's this new religious persona come from? Married life?" The reporter yelled.

I shook my head at the reporter, chuckling softly. "Shane's always been religious. His bad boy persona just got in the way. Promise ring, remember? Or do you not remember the _scandal_ that was our wedding night?" I saw a few faces in the crowd have the decency to grimace as I mockingly threw that back at them.

"So you don't believe in using protection?" Another reporter asked, hoping to clear the atmosphere of the accusing tone I'd used.

Shane smirked. "What am I protecting? Both my wife and I were clean and pure when we got married. And we've nothing to be ashamed of. We're married, it's alright for us to have children."

A different reporter changed the questioning, "What were your families reactions to the news?"

I smiled for a moment before frowning. Everyone had been elated for us. Everyone except Nicky. With everything so on the outs with her lately, she felt the need to glare and make a mockery out of my unborn child. I knew the photographers saw the frown, and the reporters picked up on my hesitation as the memory entered my mind.

Shane spoke up first. "Our parents were ecstatic of course. Mrs. Torres and my mother were crying and laughing and just excited. My brother already knew. He really helped Mitchie while I was on tour."

Taking the distraction from my trip down memory lane, I readily agreed. "Kevin was absolutely amazing. He's the best brother I could as for. He listened to everything I said and made me feel better about all of my worries. I distinctly recall a frantic phone call about the likelihood of me having twins." I smiled thinking of my younger brother-in-law who often seemed older than me in a way.

One wise reporter yelled out, "What about Nicky? What did your sister say?"

My face fell again. "Nicky…" Shane sighed. "Nicky wasn't exactly overly expressive. She just looked at us before saying 'That's nice' and leaving the room. My sister is a teenage girl and I don't pretend to understand her mind." He chuckled at the end, trying to lighten the room.

Despite his attempt to understate the drama that was Nicky, it didn't do much for my mind. It only eased the reaction of the press in the room.

"What happened between her and Riley?" Someone yelled, but Shane dismissed the question saying it wasn't our business to discuss.

"Mitchie, do you know what the baby is yet?"

"No. We don't want to know." I answered. "We want to be surprised. But we've got two names picked out."

The same reporter asked, "When are you due?"

"August 26." Shane answered. "Stas' birthday." He laughed.

"How are your friends taking the news?" A reporter asked.

"Our friends are just as happy as we are. Caitlyn is constantly talking about the baby; Stas is trying to find a bridesmaid dress that is flattering to a pregnant woman; Jason is a full of excited energy; and Nate is surprisingly in awe. I often catch him daydreaming." I said happily.

"Are there anymore engagements on the horizon for Connect 3?"

Shane shrugged. "It's hard to say with Nate and Caitlyn. Sometimes you think yes, sometimes you think no. There's no real telling until Nate actually proposes. It's very irritating." He pretended to pout.

"Shane just doesn't like being out of the loop." I teased him, patting his arm lightly and smiling at the reporters.

"What are you going to do about school, Mitchie?"

I smiled. "I'm finishing this year out. However, I'm going to be taking the fall semester off to take care of the baby and make it up with a summer semester." It'd taken Shane and I a lot fights to compromise on that one. I wanted to stay home with the baby, but he wouldn't let me not finish school. We compromised on the one semester off. Though, I had a feeling I'd probably be taking more than one summer semester to graduate early.

"How is Connect 3's new album going to be affected by the baby?" The next reporter asked.

"Well, Boston isn't _too_ far from New York, and with all three of our significant others in Massachusetts, it's quite possible that a lot of the writing and recording might just be done here rather than New York if possible."

Another gracious reporter changed the subject and asked, "Have you decided on God parents?"

I smiled. "We're still thinking about it." I admitted, smiling at Shane. We wanted to asked Jason if it was a boy, since Jason was very much my replacement for Justin, yet we also wanted to ask Kevin. He'd really bonded with my unborn child so far. God mother was a whole other issue we weren't going to worry about just yet.

"How's Jacob taking the pregnancy?" One reporter laughed. Shane and I laughed along with him.

"Jake's very curious. Shane's very protective of me now and Jacob's on high alert it seems. He's constantly sniffing around trying to figure out what's wrong and why he can't sleep on the bed next to me. But he's also sniffing around the nursery." I said smiling brightly. Shane was afraid that Jacob would hit my stomach in the middle of the night and hurt the baby, so poor Jake got banished to the end of the bed on Shane's side, as far away from me as possible.

"Nursery?" A reporter called out. "Where is the nursery? Connect 3's blog informed us Shane was staying with his parents while you were in school."

Shane gave me a playful glare before smiling brightly at the gathered press. "_Well_," He stressed the word, "Technically, I am. But, we've bought an apartment in Boston. We're still setting it up and I take Jake with me most times I go. We won't be officially moving in until Mitchie moves out of her dorm at the end of term. Then we'll actually sleep there in our room rather than me sleeping on our couch occasionally." Shane explained. "The nursery is still being worked on, and it intrigues Jake a lot since that's where I work the most."

Another happier reporter asked, "What's the theme, since you aren't finding out the sex of the baby?"

I couldn't restrain the enormous grin across my face. "Winnie the Pooh. Shane gave me a bunch of scrap books for Christmas, some already filled from Camp Rock and our Wedding. Others were blank, like the Winnie the Pooh one that only had a note inside that said _Someday_ for pictures of our children. It was the perfect theme for a unisex nursery."

We got a few awes from the reporters. Others scoffed.

I felt a sudden wave of queasiness as I often felt lately. When I placed my hand on my stomach, and the other on my forehead, Shane became concerned.

"Any last minute, pressing questions? I think it's time for Mitchie to rest a little. I think she's getting too excited." He teased me softly and kissed my temple in a sweet gesture completely unphased at the public display in front of all of the reporters. Nor was it simply an act to show how close we still were. No, it was completely instinctual. He often did that to me when I didn't feel well. A few hands had risen, but Shane called on one last reporter. "You."

"How many children do you and Mitchie plan on having, in the future?" The reporter asked.

Shane glanced at me. "If I had my way, more than the Government would legally allow me to provide for. But we'll have as many as God grants us, or Mitchie is willing to give birth to."

"As many as God grants us." I smiled at him, rubbing my stomach. I still wasn't overly religious, but it gave a good impression if we shared our religious beliefs.

"Thank you all for coming today. Good-day." Shane said, standing. He gently helped me up. It was much clearer to the crowd that I was pregnant, with nothing obstructing their views anymore. Now that they knew, my 20 week along pregnant stomach wouldn't be on the cover of some tabloid about me gaining weight. I wasn't vain enough to care if I _was_ on the larger side. It was more of the fact that they deprecated celebrities that way and caused many young girls to feel that way, too. But I was more nauseated by the thought of my pregnant stomach than of my fat stomach. I still shudder at the thought of my pregnant stomach. It was something that just did _not_fascinate me as it did my husband.

"You were amazing." Shane whispered in my ear as we left the still crowded room.

"Mmmm." I mumbled into his shoulder wearily. I was exhausted. Being pregnant was _not_ fun. "I want ice cream."

"Anything you want." Shane assured me as he gently helped me into the waiting car. Okay, so maybe pregnancy _did _have it's advantages.

"_Mom's_ ice cream?" I asked hesitantly as he climbed in the back with me. Shane preferred not driving his Mustang with me in it anymore. I personally thought he was taking the whole overly cautious approach a little too far, but didn't say anything about it. If it meant I could snuggle with him, I wasn't going to complain.

Shane sighed. "Mitch, that's a four hour drive. _One way." _My face fell slightly, not on purpose, but due to genuine disappointment. "And I don't think she's made any. But, I could call her and be on my way in an hour." He promised as he cradled my face.

Guilt swallowed me up in that instance and I realized it wasn't fair to ask for ice cream that was over 4 hours away. "No, it's fine. Will you make a milkshake when we get home?" I asked instead, though I really wanted the ice cream.

"Absolutely." He smiled at me, pulling me closer to his side. He hummed in my ear softly and I let my mind wander. Suddenly I was pulled back into the memories the press conference drew forth. Nicky's reaction.

"_What is your _problem_, Nicky?" Shane's harsh voice snapped._

"_She's just trapping you." Nicky sneered._

"_Wh-what?" I stuttered, completely caught off guard at her tone and her words._

"_You're really that insecure that you had to go and get pregnant, Mitchie? Or are you just that delusional that you thought it'd save your marriage?" She demanded. My eyes misted even more at her jab at my mental stability._

"_There's nothing to save." Shane snarled back at her. He seemed like a wolf on the defensive._

"_I'll say." Nicky scoffed._

"_You know what I meant." Shane shot back quickly. "Our marriage is _not _in danger. Things happen. Did you ever think of that? If _accidents_ didn't happen, none of us would be here. Not me, not Kevin, not you. None of us were planned. Were _we_ a means to save Mom and Dad's marriage?" He demanded of his younger sister, who looked so much older than I did with all of her bitter resentment. I winced at Shane's example, knowing full well that both pregnancy were a rough patch for the Grey family. The twins almost cost Shane his happy family._

_Nicky dismissed his comment and continued on her other theory. "Are you really that insecure? No surprise. I mean, he _is _Shane Grey. Who knows what he's been up to in Europe?"_

"_Nicole Leigh!" Shane's mother snapped. "Go to your room, _right this instance_. Don't you _dare_ come back down until you are willing to apologize to Shane and Mitchie and mean it. I cannot _believe _you."_

Nicky hasn't been out of her room except to go to school since.

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Here we go again. I hope you enjoyed. Now I'm off to my 3.5 hour film class and hopefully there will be reviews waiting for me. I will probably post the second chapter shortly after I get back. Just because you have all been waiting so patiently for AINE.


	2. Chapter 2

Can I say wow? You guys never cease to amaze me. By the time I got back from film class not even 4 hours later, I had 239 unread emails. By the time I finished sorting out the reviews and reading them and moving them into the folder I have for them I had 83 review. 4 & half hours and I had 83 reviews. And at moment I have 92 reviews, so wow thanks! And I'm sooooo sorry about the underlining thing. I forgot that I had to edit the chapters in the document editor before posting them because ff automatically underlines and italicizes in weird places. Not uploaidng anything in 4 weeks kinda did that too me. Anyway, I hope chapter 2 meets your standards.

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Chapter 2:

Shane woke me up out of my day dream, or should I say nightmare, to tell me we were at his parents. It had never seemed so unwelcoming before Nicky took to hating my unborn child. That had been two weeks ago already and it was painful to think about. I was surprised to find Nicky out of her room when we entered the house as Mrs. Grey was imposing her grounding very seriously.

"Nicky, why aren't you in your room?" Shane asked cautiously. Nicky gave him a blank look and returned her attention to her TV show. _"Nicole_." Shane stressed her name. I saw her flinch slightly.

"Mom ungrounded me." She said simply.

Shane scoffed. "I find that hard to believe. Does that mean you're going to apologize now?"

She smirked. "Nope." Her eyes never left the TV in front of her.

"Then why did Mom unground you?" He demanded, stepping in front of her view.

Now annoyed, Nicky looked up at him with that same blank look. Only her voice gave away her irritation. "She realized it was a loosing battle. I'm not going to apologize for having an opinion."

"You _don't_ have an opinion." Shane replied, slightly confused. "That's the point. You have yet to properly articulate to me what your problem with my wife being pregnant is."

"Oooh. Shane's using big fancy words. Must be getting them from your collegiate wife, huh?" Nicky teased, side stepping the question.

"_Nicky_." Shane was loosing his patience. For the last two weeks, not only had Nicky refused to apologize, she also refused to explain herself.

"Shane…" I sighed, placing my hand on his arm. My other hand was resting unconsciously on my stomach. "Come on. Obviously Nicky's still not ready to share why she hates me and the baby so much. It's not worth getting worked up over. You know she's as stubborn as you are." I tried to placate him.

For a moment, uncertainty crossed Nicky's features, but she said nothing. "Fine. I really thought you'd be ecstatic to be an aunt, Nix." Shane sighed sadly and followed me out of the room.

Just before we exited, Nicky softly exclaimed, "Shay,"

Shane paused and waited for her to continue, but she didn't. He sighed and left again. I glanced back at Nicky once more before heading upstairs as well. Shane didn't see the look on her face, but I had.

Shane was fuming, pacing the bedroom as he mouthed off about his sister. "Where does she get off? Honestly, what is her problem?"

Though his question was rhetorical, I couldn't help but answer. "Neglect, Shane." I said softly.

Shane stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at me quickly. "What?" He asked slightly confused.

"She's feeling neglected. It's easy to juggle your time between your wife who is at school and your siblings you still live with. But, once there's a baby involved… you're going to be so preoccupied with the baby you won't have much time for her. And you'll be moving out for good because it won't just be you and me anymore."

"Wha- where did you get _that _from?" He asked thoroughly confused.

I scoffed and headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed while still speaking. "It was easy to read her face when I said she hated me. She doesn't. She resents me. Just like she did two years ago. I'm taking her brother away. And she resents the baby even more because that's not something that's ever going to change. Even if, God forbid, you and I split, you'll always have the baby in your life as your main priority." I paused, trying to keep my emotions at bay as I reentered the bedroom. "And when she called you Shay… she just misses you." I whispered softly.

"She's being an immature selfish brat." Shane argued.

I sighed. "Maybe." I agreed still speaking softly.

While Shane went into the bathroom to get ready, I curled up on the bed with Jacob. "Jake, off the bed." Shane scolded the dog when he came back.

"Leave him. You're going to alienate our dog, now, too." I teased, laying my head on Jacob's back and petting his soft curls.

Shane rolled his eyes at me. "I'm going to take a shower." He mumbled, kissing me gently.

"Okay." I was asleep before he came back, though my mind was wandering again.

With all of the stress that is school and Shane's career, I had been hoping for the full support of our families. Instead, I ostracized my sister-in-law by taking her brother from her. I didn't _want_ Shane's full attention. I was happy he was spending so much time with his family. Ever since Nicky and I had come to understand one another and became friends, eventually sisters, I was always careful to make sure I didn't monopolize Shane's time. I didn't want her to hate me again. Instead, by the grace of God, I did anyway. Because now she won't even speak to me and that puts a rift between brother and sister.

Sleep came quickly, but not easily. My dreams were tormented by thoughts of Nicky hating her niece or nephew and it broke my heart. I woke up many times, thankful for Shane's arms holding me tightly.

The next morning, I met up with Anastasia and Caitlyn for breakfast. We were at a small café discussing wedding plans. Caitlyn seemed really uncomfortable, but I wasn't sure why. Anastasia had been all too excited to finally sit down and start planning her July wedding.

"Hmm… I can't decide." Anastasia pouted.

Caitlyn and I sighed. "Fine, let's make a pro and con list for each okay?" I offered, taking her notebook from her. "Pro's of an 'American' wedding?"

"Easier." Anastasia sighed. "Cheaper for Jason and me." Caitlyn and I shot her a look. "Okay, that doesn't matter much, but still." She argued slightly. "It will be more _us_ and not just _me_."

"Okay, cons of an American wedding?" Caitlyn asked.

Anastasia sighed, "My family will be highly disappointed for not getting a traditional Serbian wedding. They hate America almost as much as they hate Kosovo for separating."

"Pro's of traditional Serbian wedding?" I asked.

A small smile found its way to her face. "It'll be beautiful." Her voice suddenly had a slight accent to it as she was no doubt thinking back to weddings she'd attended in Serbia herself. "My family will be happy." She added somberly. "But it's not fair to Jason's family." She sighed again.

"I think you should just find a way to compromise and make it both. Make it unique. I mean, you already don't fit your normal Serbian stereotype. You look remarkably Irish for being Serbian." Caitlyn commented.

Anastasia chuckled at that. "I do, don't I? I think there's some Irish in the Dragomir line. Like, a tiny, itty bitty part that my genes pulled out." She turned serious again, though, thinking about what Caitlyn suggested. "You're right. I can compromise them. I mean, I _am _going to be a celebrity's wife. I can do as I please. Thanks, Cait." Her tone had become teasing toward the end, ensuring she wasn't serious.

Caitlyn just shrugged nonchalantly. I giggled. "Okay, now's the bigger question." I said sobering up slightly. "Where?"

Anastasia groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "I don't know. I want to have it here, but Serbia can be just so, beautiful…" She sighed, thinking of her beautiful native country.

"Well, we've seen pictures of the Cvetojevics' home and of the Dragomir's home. They're pretty big. You could easily house guests there." I shrugged. "And I think an overseas wedding might keep a lot of the press away. As well as make your family a little happier about the compromises."

Anastasia thought for a bit longer. "Hmmm… it's a possibility. Otherwise I have to rent out a hotel or two for both our families to come here." She laughed softly.

"So, does this mean we're going to Serbia this summer?" Caitlyn asked tentatively.

The smile that broke across Anastasia's face was enormous. "I think it does. Of course, that's if Jason and Mrs. Bishop don't mind. I mean, it's her first wedding, and all. Jason's older sister hasn't gotten married yet-"

I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Stas, it's your wedding. Remember that. Only your opinion and Jason's opinion matters. Not ours, not his parents, not your parents, no one else but the two of you."

She took a deep calming breath. "I know. I just don't want to be that horrible daughter-in-law."

"Well, she needs to not be a horrible mother-in-law. Mrs. Grey is amazing, I got lucky. Mrs. Bishop will be fine. And if she's not, talk to Mrs. Grey. She'll help make her back off." I promised.

"Okay, let's talk more wedding later. It's giving me a headache. Let's talk baby, now." Anastasia changed the subject. "How is Baby Grey?"

"Perfectly fine." I smiled resting my hand on my stomach. "I can't wait. I really can't. 4 months to go. I can hardly believe it."

Caitlyn and Anastasia each placed a hand on my stomach as well. "I know. We're going to be aunts!" Caitlyn cooed.

"I'm glad someone's happy about that." I said softly, thinking of Nicky.

Caitlyn sighed, immediately apologetic. "She'll come around, I'm sure. No one can resist a new born." She promised.

"I hope so. I hate the looks my uncle's wife gives me when I see them, I'd hate for Nicky to ever do that to my little one." I sighed, thinking of how my aunt often looks down on me because of my father.

Anastasia took my hands in hers, forcing me to look at her. "Even if she does, it won't matter, Mitchie. You'll always have Cait and myself to fill that gap. Always. That baby will never feel unloved between all of their aunts and uncles that aren't even biologically related. And then there's Kevin, and hopefully Nicky, but if not, her loss."

"I know. I don't know who to pick as godparents." I changed the subject slightly.

"I was Maid of Honor, I'm perfectly content with whatever you choose." Caitlyn assured me.

I smiled at her. "That's good. Cause if the baby _is_ born on your birthday, Stas, I really want you to be their god mother." Anastasia got really teary eyed and hugged me.

"What about the boys?" Caitlyn asked, smiling at us.

I shrugged. "Well, we were thinking Jason because of Justin, if it's a boy, but I was also leaning toward Kevin because he's been such a great brother while Shane was gone. And then, there's Nate…"

"I'm officially taking my boyfriend's name out of the drawing!" Caitlyn replied, slightly horrified by the thought of trusting Nate with a baby. "I love him and all, but I think it would overwhelm him."

I shrugged again, "I don't know, Cait. He seems to be really keen on the idea of you two having kids." I laughed softly to myself, "Besides he could use the practice in handling a baby." I teased.

Caitlyn flushed red almost instantly. "N-not yet, he doesn't!" She stuttered.

Anastasia laughed whole heartedly. "It's okay, Cait. You can be the one to wait a while to get married. Mitchie and I have both rushed it a bit. Feel free to take forever if you wish."

A pained look crossed her features, but we weren't sure why. I just shrugged and changed the subject. "Back to wedding stuff, that's why we're here!"

Anastasia groaned slightly. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I love you both, and I can't possibly pick between you for Maid of Honor… so I'm going to ask Jason's sister Sophia. Then it will be you two and E. And my cousin Natasa is going to be the flower girl." I dutifully scribbled everything down as she said it.

"Sounds good. Who's Jason going to choose?" Caitlyn asked, peering over my shoulder at what was being written down so far.

Anastasia thought for a moment before answering. "John is going to be his best man, since he can't choose either. And Shane and Nate, obviously, and I think his cousin Brian. We agreed on my cousin Petar is going to be the ring bearer."

"We didn't have those." I said thoughtfully. "We just had the bridesmaids and groomsmen."

Smirking at Caitlyn, Anastasia shrugged. "Well, maybe by the time Cait and Nate get married the little one will be able to walk." Caitlyn glared in response.

"Oh, that'd be adorable." I replied, rubbing my stomach.

"Who said we'd take that long to get married? That'd be at least 3 or 4 years before they'd be old enough to walk, much less be able to walk in a straight line down an altar." Caitlyn replied, glaring slightly still.

"Oh, sorry, Cait." Anastasia apologized. "Didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Caitlyn sighed. "It's fine. I'm just… sensitive about all of the baby and wedding stuff. He's standing on the edge waiting to dive in and I'm as far back as I can possible be from it holding on for dear life."

I rubbed her arm soothingly. There wasn't much we could say to her to make her feel better.

"I can't believe I'm getting married in college." Anastasia sighed, burying her face in her hands. "Am I insane?" She asked.

"Am I?" I retorted.

She laughed slightly. "You and Shane are like… Mickey Mouse and Minnie. You're _meant_ to be together. That's why your pregnant. Because it's just meant to be. I don't know about me and Jason. We haven't been together as long as you guys have."

"By six months, Stas." Caitlyn laughed. "We've been with Nate and Shane since August of 08. You've been with Jason since February of 09. There's not that much of a time difference. Stop worry. If your heart is telling you this is right, don't worry about how insane you might think you're being."

"You're right. I'm still not having kids any time, soon. We'll leave that to Mitchie and Shane." Anastasia smiled.

"Oh, please, this ones going to have a good three years at least on all of their siblings." I replied, having already discussed that with Shane.

"Uh huh. Riiiiiiight. Cause Shane can totally keep his… hands… to himself." Anastasia smirked.

"So, have you thought of any themes for the wedding?" I asked, blushing profusely at her implications.

Anastasia and Caitlyn laughed, but went back to wedding planning anyway.

I was thoroughly happy for Jason and Anastasia, but I couldn't help but feel like Caitlyn was hiding something from me. She seemed entirely too uptight about the _Janastasia_wedding. Yet, I couldn't place my finger on it so I simply let it go. I wasn't going to concern myself with stress things that I might just be imagining. Stress is bad for the baby and Shane would lecture me if he knew I was thinking such things.

My main priorities was my baby and my school work. Sadly, my marriage came second to both.

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I'm off to bed now. Hopefully I'll have more assume reviews when I wake up? Please? I love you guys! =) Oh, and I fixed the first chapter for anyone who wants to reread it because they were distracted by the horrid underlining.


	3. Chapter 3

So, I'm spoiling you guys with the chapters I have written. After the first five run out, you'll have to wait a week or so for new ones, probably. But, I figured I've made you wait so long for AINE, I could give you a treat. And, for those of you who remember my obsession with Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Series, I officially love her writing. I cried, CRIED while reading the newest one which came out yesterday. The foreshadowing in the first two books that lead to the third, and the way that the seemingly separate plot lines of the first and second actually entwined and made sense was pure genius. I loved it. All I can say is that she was purely amazing. And, yes, I finally caved and read Twilight -and finally caught the references you guys made to Jacob when I first introduced him, though I realized it in Eclipse because I'm slow- and though I did thoroughly enjoy the saga, I must admit that I much preferred VA to Twilight. Dimitri is more my type than Edward. =) Anywho, I hope you have all enjoyed the second chapter and like the third. This is where I truly love writing. Because I throw you all off so much.

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Chapter 3:

You know the best way to wake up on your birthday? Having your husband kissing your bare shoulder and whispering into your ear how much he loves you. My smiled split my face in half as I reflected on my life at the moment: I was now 19, married, and expecting. It was so surreal at times, but being 19 made me feel a bit better about being a mother. Or soon to be mother.

"Morning." My voice was warm and still thick with sleep as I spoke.

"Good morning, love. How are you feeling?" He asked, holding me a little tighter.

"Amazing." I replied honestly. After the small party we had with various school friends of mine and some of the guy's friends for my birthday over the weekend, I was a bit drained for the next few days. Partying will do that to a pregnant woman. "Then again, how could I feel any other way laying in your arms?" I asked looking over my shoulder at him.

He grinned and kissed me as best he could from our position. "Well, as soon as you get up, we're going out with everyone for lunch."

"What time is it?" I asked, looking drowsily at the clock. I was blowing off classes today- irresponsible I know. But I wanted to spend my birthday with my husband.

"Almost 10. But I know you'll want to shower and everything." He explained. "And I need to straighten my hair." He added. I giggled and pushed his arms off of me so I could get out of bed.

I was already in the shower when he started his hair. It often amused me that he spend more time on his hair than I did on mine. But I loved him that way. After slipping a towel around me bare torso, I stepped out of the tub. I pressed a kiss into his naked shoulder and smiled as I felt the muscles tense for a moment then relax again. He turned slightly to kiss me on the lips before returning to his hair.

20 minutes later, he was sliding on his vest over his t-shirt when I finished my make-up and hair. His jaw slacked slightly and his eyes lit up. "What, do I look bad?" I asked cautiously, nervous that accentuating my baby bump was bad. My dress was tight around my breasts and then flowed out below them, but still clung to my stomach slightly before ending at my knees.

"N-no." He stuttered. "You look almost as beautiful as you did at our wedding." He smiled, taking me in his arms for a moment. "I don't think that I'll think of anything more beautiful than that. Maybe our daughters on their wedding days could compare, but never out-do."

"Daughters?" I asked, curiously. He simply shrugged and smirked at me in response. "Well, let's get through this one before we think about any more, okay?" I asked, kissing him lightly.

"Fine by me." He grinned and ran his hands over my swollen tummy. "You do look beautiful. Have I mentioned how breathtaking I think you look pregnant?" He asked, his lips hovering over mine.

"You might have mentioned it." I replied smiling.

"Good. Because you are very, very breathtaking." He kissed me until his cell phone ringing broke us apart. "Hello?" He answered. "Yeah. Almost… We'll be there soon… Just get a table... It's her birthday, she can be late… alright, bye."

"Who was that?" I inquired, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He laughed and answered, "Nate. We were supposed to be there 10 minutes ago."

"Well, let's go then." I smiled and tried to slip on my shoes. It was difficult to bend over to do, so Shane took pity on me and did it for me. I huffed a bit about not being able to do it myself, but was grateful that he helped.

We arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes later to find Jason and Anastasia outside waiting for us.

"There's the birthday girl!" Jason smiled, hugging me as best he could. "Happy Birthday, Mitchie!"

I smiled and hugged him back. "Thanks, Jase." I replied.

Anastasia hugged me as well, commenting, "Why doesn't someone look extra pregnant and pretty today?"

"Why thank you. Where are Caitlyn and Nate?" I asked, looking for them.

Anastasia made a face. "At the table. Is it just me, or do things seem tense between them lately?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, but it's Cait and Nate, they go through their phases."

Caitlyn hugged me when we reached the table, followed by Nate, who beamed at me, while placing a hand on my stomach. "How's the baby, today?"

"Baby and mama are just fine, today." I replied. He was constantly asking about the baby. It was sweet to see how excited he was about the baby. Out of all of our friends, I was most afraid of Nate's reaction. Shockingly, he was the most excited it seemed.

Lunch was fun and light hearted. Nate and Caitlyn were both still acting a bit strange, but over all it was fun. We spoke of nothing overly important and enjoyed just being with one another. Oh, and of course of presents. Anastasia and Jason gave me some really cute maternity clothes, while Caitlyn and Nate bought me new flats, sneakers, and a pair of flip flops to wear since I only have one pair of pregnancy-wise shoes.

I received Shane's present later, when we were alone at dinner. He took me to a cute upscale restaurant in Boston, where we were hounded by paparrazi, but it didn't matter. Though a few of them were at least kind enough to yell Happy Birthday while getting pictures.

We were in a secluded room, all on our own during dinner. Between dessert and our meal, Shane pulled out a small square box with a tiny bow on it.

"Happy Birthday, baby." He smiled, kissing me across the table.

I smiled and curiously opened the box to find a beautiful gold ring encrusted with diamonds all the way around the band with two larger diamonds in the center. One was a white diamond while the other was pink. The pink one confused me.

"Oh my, Shane, it's beautiful. Why is there one pink diamond?" I asked.

"My birthstone is the unfortunately pink tourmaline. Yours is white diamond. The other diamonds can be easily removed and replaced with our children's birthstones, when we have them. After you have the baby in August, I'll take it to have them put a peridot in place. I was going to get it with the peridot in it already, but I didn't want to jinx the baby or anything." He explained, playing with my hand.

I smiled with watery eyes. "Shane… you are too perfect. I love it. Thank you." I kissed him as tears slipped down my cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, wiping them away with his thumbs.

I replied, "Hormones?" He chuckled and kissed me again.

I went back to school the next day and found myself quite busy with the semester coming to an end soon. I only had three weeks left of school and then it was time to officially move into my apartment with my husband. To a point, I was wishing the weeks would slow down so I could enjoy life a bit. Once I finished school for the semester, the next major event was giving birth. The thought terrified me. But I also had the wedding, Camp Rock, and a few other things along the way. I had to remind myself to take things one day at a time.

Two weeks later, we were meeting over the wedding again. Caitlyn and Nate were as awkward as ever, if not more so, while Shane was busy trying to keep Anastasia from throttling her uncaring fiancé. Jason just agreed with everything Anastasia said or told her it was up to her. I felt bad, knowing Jason was trying to make her happy, but didn't really understand that she wanted his opinion.

"Jason, seriously, which do you like better?" Anastasia asked, coming to her wits end.

"Honestly, honey, I don't care. Whatever you want." Jason smiled at her. Shane grabbed Anastasia's arm, holding her back before she lunged across the table at Jason.

I sighed. "Jason, we were thinking, because you know, you don't care about anything with the wedding, that Caitlyn and I should look like complete crap. I mean, we were thinking, puke green dresses. We want Stas to look absolutely amazing." I said, knowing Jason couldn't handle throw up. Just the color made him want to throw up as well.

Jason made a face and stuttered, "Yeah, that's a good idea. Sh-she should look absolutely beautiful."

I rolled my eyes. "Jason." I said, grabbing his face in my hands. "You hate that color. Stas wants your opinions on these things. Don't just agree. Have an opinion!" I yelled at him slightly.

Anastasia gave me a relieved look while Shane shook his head. Nate chuckled and Caitlyn looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Tact, Mitch?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Hormones." I smiled. Hey, it was a valid excuse and it made dealing with Jason a lot easier. Might as well use it while I could.

Jason just looked at me with a shocked expression. "Really?" He asked, turning to Anastasia.

"Yes, Jason." She sighed. "I want you involved. This is our wedding. Not just mine. I want to know if you have a preference in whether we get married her or in Serbia. And everything else I ask you."

"Oh. I just wanted to make you happy." Jason said, stroking her cheek.

"I know. But you'd make me happier by giving me your opinion." She leaned into his touch, smiling softly at him.

"Okay." He smiled. "No puke green dresses, please. And Serbia sounds amazing. And I'd prefer red to gold. It's more vibrant like you."

"Thank you." Anastasia smiled. I turned to look at Shane and smiled, thinking back on planning our wedding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nate and Caitlyn sharing an intimate look themselves. We weren't all married yet, or even planning it. But we _were_ all in love with our partners, and that was enough.

Because it had been a Saturday, Shane and I were at his parents. We'd be moving into our apartment the following weekend. My morning sickness had subsided and therefore Shane wasn't on alert through out the night, allowing me to slip out of bed unnoticed. I had every intention of being alone with my dear friends, Ben & Jerry, at 2:30 in the morning. Instead, I found myself face to face with my sister-in-law.

I must have looked like a fish out of water or something because Nicky asked, "Are you okay, Mitchie?" She actually sounded concerned. "Is the baby okay? Is something bothering you? Do you need anything?"

"Like you care," I couldn't stop myself from snapping or letting my hurt show as I opened the freezer.

I heard her sigh. "I don't hate you," she mumbled.

I know I was being understanding when I calmed Shane down, but it seemed like pushing Nicky's buttons was the only way to ever get anywhere with her. "Really? Acting like a complete bitch makes it seem like you do."

Now she huffed, "I'm a teenager-"

"That's a shitty excuse," I interrupted her. "I'm not that much of an adult myself Nicky. We haven't been close in so long. It's not just the baby. What is your problem with me lately?" I demanded frustrated. I may have slammed my ice cream on the table in front of her, but I won't confirm or deny that.

Nicky wouldn't answer. Instead, she stared at her own half eaten ice cream.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "And just when I thought we were getting somewhere." I grabbed my ice cream to head upstairs.

I was almost completely out of the kitchen when she spoke softly. If we hadn't been in a completely silent house I never would have heard her. "Because you're perfect."

I dropped my ice cream on the floor. Thankfully, I'd taken the whole pint and it was still closed. I turned to face her quickly. "What?" I asked shocked.

"You're perfect! Like, perfect, perfect." She exclaimed.

"I don't get it," I replied, confused.

She sighed. "I broke his heart when he was hoping that I'd be as masochistic as you are."

It took a little while for me to process her words. When it finally registered that she was speaking of Riley, I was dumbfounded. What did Riley have to do with her hating me? I didn't understand.

"Wait, what does Riley have to do with you hating me? Or what do I have to do with you breaking Riley's heart? Especially when he broke up with you? And you were the one who moved on and _told_ him about it. And told him about sleeping with Chuck, which your brother knows about." I was thoroughly confused and had no idea what her problem was.

"Because!" She exploded again. I sighed, suddenly knowing what every parent and boy went through when trying to deal with teenage girls. They tended to not make sense. "Riley hates me because he wanted me to realize I was still in love with him and that Chuck couldn't fill that void. That he was the only one that could. That I only wanted him and that I'd rather deal with the stress of being with him than deal with the pain of not being with him. Because that's how you and Shane are! You both knew or know that your life could be so much easier if you weren't together, but you choose to be with him. You chose to marry him when you did. And now you're making him the happiest person in the world because all he's ever wanted was a family that he could take care of. To be a better father than ours was when we were younger. And Riley hates me because I'm not perfect like you."

I sighed and tried to piece everything together. "So, you hate me because I make your brother happy?" I surmised.

She glared at me before looking at the floor. "Indirectly."

"So, you hate me because your jealous that I can make your brother happy and you couldn't make Riley happy?" I guessed again.

"I'm not jealous." She mumbled.

Taking one last shot in the dark, I guess, "So, you hate me because your brother and I are in love and happy, and you are alone because you threw your relationship with Riley out the window to be with Chuck, and he now hates you because you moved on when in reality your heart is still with Riley, who hates you because you slept with Chuck and moved on?" I was being slightly repetitive, but I wanted her to see that it was her own fault.

"I didn't sleep with Chuck." She replied indifferently. "It didn't feel right. Someone once told me that sex should be with someone I love, and I promised someone else that I would be in love the next time I had sex. And I don't love Chuck."

"You love Riley." I said softly.

She shrugged. "Maybe. It doesn't matter. He hasn't spoken to me in months. He hates me."

"So that's what this whole thing has been about? You wanted to blame someone else for your mistakes? Hate Mitchie because she can make Shane happy?"

"I guess." She mumbled.

"Damn, I was wrong." I pouted. "I thought you were upset over Shane neglecting you. Now that he's married and going to be a father soon…"

"A little, but not enough to hate my niece or nephew. I don't hate the baby. Or you. I guess I'm just a little resentful."

"Truce?" I asked, opening my arms for a hug.

"Truce." She agreed, hugging me.

I picked up my now slightly melt ice cream off the floor and sat down. "Now, why don't you tell me what all of these boy troubles are?"

We spent a while talking about all of her issues with Riley, whom she admitted to still loving. But Riley really did want seemingly nothing to do with her anymore. And Chuck was just a fill in. Poor Chuck, he seemed to like Nicky a lot. But Nicky couldn't help the fact that she was head over heels in love with a celebrity.

A worried and alarmed Shane stumbled into the kitchen at some point, wondering where I had gone. After assuring him I was fine, it registered that Nicky and I were talking. We explained that we made up and he was infinitely relieved. He kissed us each goodnight again and went back to bed.

I smiled as I watched him heading back to bed. Everything was finally coming back together. I could only hope that everything was going to last.

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Yeah, I definitely read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn in a span of two weeks, having taken breaks between the 1-2 days it too per book, and finished the newest VA in 6 hours because I couldn't stop reading once I started. =)


	4. Chapter 4

Haha, I should really reread these chapters before I post them. Since I haven't looked at them since writing them, I forget what's in them and keep thinking of the chapter I just wrote instead. But anywho, I love you guys, as usual. I'm only updating tonight because I'm sick -again- because I wasn't taking my asthma med, so my lungs are seriously inflamed. Oops. But, I'm bored out of my mind, so I thought I'd post the new chapter and then get some nice reviews to read because they're always so entertaining. Hopefully, this one is better. I know a lot of you love them, but some of you are pointing out that though they're good they're not my best. I agree, but I think they get better. And, you are supposed to be confused about Naitlyn, Mitchie's confused about Naitlyn! _But_ you will find out eventually, I promise. And remember, I'm currently…. 3 written chapters ahead of what's been posted? I don't want to spoil and post 3 chapters in one day because then you won't get one for two weeks, probably. Anyway, that point of that is that I've got this planned out, so requesting things to be in the next chapter is pointless. Sorry, that sounded mean. Oh well, there's a lack of oxygen to my brain at the moment. This one is a bit short, though because I didn't know what else to write. But I'll probably post Ch5 tomorrow if I get Ch7 finished. Okay, enjoy. Wow, these are waaaay too long lately.

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Chapter 4:

Moving day. It had an ominous feel to it. There was a sense of excitement, no doubt, but the jitters in my stomach were still looming over me. I'd taken my last final the day before, and by consequence I had been ignoring Shane for the last week studying and turning in final papers.

He happily welcomed me home to his parents' for the last time last night. He was more than happy to be moving back out on his own. While he loved his parents and siblings, he wanted to be alone with me again, like we had been before he left for Europe. He was bouncing with excite all night.

Me, on the other hand? Not so much. I was scared, nervous, excited, apprehensive, and so many other emotions. Moving into _our_ apartment was one step closer to reality. Granted, we'd lived together, but it wasn't _our_ apartment. It was the guys'. The others just all happened to not really be there. And Nicky was still with us. This was going to be the first time Shane and I were going to be truly alone.

I kept going over the mental breakdown in my mind. Three weeks ago, it had been finals, moving, Camp Rock, Jason & Stas' wedding, anniversary, baby, adulthood. Now there were two less items and that meant it was all that closer. Have I mentioned that giving birth has me terrified? That becoming a mother is the single most frightening thought of my life? I was nervous about becoming a wife, but that's not have a scary as being a mother. A wife isn't completely and utterly responsible for her husband. They share the efforts and the rewards. A mother, though… she _is_ completely responsible, especially of a new born. I knew I'd have Shane for support, but I was still scared.

Perhaps I was most worried about one of us giving up our dreams for our family. There wasn't a single thing I wouldn't give for Shane or our baby. That didn't mean I wouldn't come to regret or resent those actions. And I knew Shane felt the same way I did: willing to give anything. But I couldn't help fearing that he'd regret his choices. I also knew I'd feel incredibly guilty if he ever gave up his future for ours, for mine. I couldn't let him do that. Not when part of me felt like I'd lost my music already.

But all of these thoughts weren't brought on by moving day. No, they were just made more prominent. Moving day itself brought on a feeling of helplessness. I was not allowed to carry anything. Not even the coffee Shane and I had picked up for everyone.

I sat on our couch that was already in the apartment, pouting, the entire time, watching everyone else bring things in. One would think I'd be allowed to unpack the boxes as they were brought up. Nope. I had to wait for Shane or one of the others to place a box at a decent height for me so I wasn't bending over, since I wasn't allowed to lift it myself. And I couldn't put anything away that required stretching a bit or a step ladder.

Shane sighed knowingly as he took in the sight of me pouting on the couch. "What's wrong?" He asked, crouching in front of me as he unfolded my crossed arms.

"I'm useless." I mumbled, trying to take my arms back.

He let out a deep breath and tried to calm me down. "You're not useless. I just don't want to risk you hurting the baby. I'm sorry for being so paranoid, I can't help it."

"You won't even let me unpack." I whined.

"Why don't you give 10 minutes to put the bed together with the guys, and then you can unpack our clothes? I'll put the boxes on the bed, and the drawers, too, and hangers, and you can put the clothes away." He suggested, trying to make me happy.

"Fine. Can I hang the clothes up in the closet, though?" I asked.

He sighed again. "If you must." He stood up and kissed my head. "Love you." He mumbled against my hair.

I smiled up at him as he walked away again, into the bedroom.

I stifled a laugh a few minutes later, hearing Shane yell, "Jason, no- ow," and a loud bang, which I guessed was my bed frame.

I waddled into the bedroom and laughed, seeing Nate and Shane with the mattress laying on top of their legs. They glared at me.

"Don't give me that look," I replied. "Shane will kill me if I help him with that." I nodded toward Jason while speaking to Nate.

"Yes, he will." Shane agreed. "STAS! I'm going to kill your fiance! Come help, please?" Anastasia came in from the bathroom, where she'd been putting things away and doubled over laughing.

"Jay, what did you do?" She gasped.

Jason blushed and looked at the floor. "Dropped the mattress when we were lifting it onto the bed… because I saw a bird at the window."

Hearing the full story, Anastasia and I both laughed rather hard. "Ow." I said softly, through my laughs, as a small pain shot through my stomach.

"Mitchie?" Shane was immediately pushing the mattress off of him with as much effort as he could. Jason and Anastasia managed to get it off him fast enough, thankfully. "What's wrong?"

I grimaced slightly. "I think I laughed, too hard." I said rubbing my side a little. "I'm fine. The doctor said that can happen. It's fine." I assured him.

"Are you sure? Do I need to take you to the emergency room?" He asked, touching my side as if to inspect it himself. I shook my head no. He held me to him and rubbed my back. "Do you see why I want you to take it easy? Just Jason's stupidity is enough to hurt you." He spoke teasingly, so Jason wouldn't take offense, but the reality of his words was serious enough.

"I know. I'm sorry for getting upset with you earlier. I just feel completely useless." I pouted again, as I buried my face into his shoulder.

Caitlyn laughed, having came in when she heard the frantic tone of Shane's voice. "Only you, Mitch. Most women would be using the fact that they're pregnant as an excuse to get out of doing things. You on the other, are complaining about not being able to do anything."

"Hey, I use pregnancy as an excuse for things. How many times have I blamed hormones since I told you I was pregnant?" I asked, teasing myself.

Shane chuckled, "Far too many, baby."

I shrugged in his arms. "Oh well. I'm gonna go order Chinese food for dinner. The usual?" I asked, moving out of his arms and looking around the room. Every nodded or gave small approvals.

"Why Chinese? Wasn't it making her puke last month?" Nate asked as I left.

Shane and Caitlyn both stopped him, saying at the same time, "Don't ask."

Nate found out why I was in the mood for Chinese later that night. Chicken and broccoli mixed with duck sauce and sweet & sour sauce. The others all looked like they were going to throw up at any moment while I sighed in content. Nate's eyes were bugging out of his head while he watched me eat. "What the…" he finally muttered.

I shrugged, self-consciously. "I've just been in the mood for chicken and broccoli and sweet & sour sauce."

"And the duck sauce?" Anastasia asked, picking at her own dinner.

"It's a pretty color?" I asked, uncertain as to why I added duck sauce.

"Hey, at least it's not pickles and ice cream." Caitlyn defended me.

Shane snorted. "Too late for that one. Apparently it was gross." Everyone gave us weird looks so he explained. "She heard that pregnant women liked pickles and ice cream, so she asked me to get it for her. Apparently it's only good when you have cravings for it."

Even laughed and finally began eating their own dinners with an actual appetite again.

After everyone else left, and our apartment was mostly unpacked and ready to live in, Shane found me in the baby's room. He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm scared." I whispered honestly.

"Me, too." He admitted. "I didn't have the greatest childhood, Mitch. I'm petrified of that happening to our children. The fighting, the stress, the guilt. I'm afraid I'm going to cause them the pain I had as a kid."

"Your parents fought over money. Money, as you like to remind me, is not an issue for us." I argued. "I'm afraid that we're going to be bad at. That _I'm_ going to be bad at it. What if I'm not ready to be a mother? What if they end up hating me?"

"They're not going to. Everything will be fine. We just have to set aside our fears and not let them get to us. We'll handle everything this baby brings our way." He assured me, while pressing a gentle kiss to my neck.

"I'm still scared of giving birth." I laid my head back against his shoulder. "It's going to be painful. What if something goes wrong? Shane, I'm scared." I don't know when I started crying, but Shane had sat me in the rocking chair and was wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"It's going to be fine. If something goes wrong, they can handle it. God won't let anything happen to our baby." He wouldn't say it, but there was a silent, 'I promise' lingering in the air. I knew he wouldn't say it for one fact. He was just as scared as I was. He couldn't promise me that everything was going to be fine.

Desperate to take our minds off of terrifying thoughts, I smiled at him as I ran my fingers through his hair, "So, I think it's time to christen our apartment."

"Oh, really?" He smirked at me.

I nodded and let him pull me up into his arms. I giggled as he kissed me and backed his way out of the room, leading me by my lips. That was the last night we had sex before the baby was born. It hadn't been too bad up until then, but it was getting more and more uncomfortable for both of us. Shane was too afraid of crushing my stomach to enjoy himself and I was uncomfortable with being in control. Pregnant sex was something we never really grasped the hang off. Needless to say, Dracula ended up returning for the last few months of my pregnancy.

The next morning, our first official morning in the new apartment, it was decided that we needed to go food shopping. Granted, we'd each gone for simple food shopping: milk, eggs, cereal, coffee, snack food, etc. But we'd never gone food shopping as a married couple who needed to learn how to cook real meals for themselves. It was going to be an experience, to say the least.

We were recognized by lots of people as we shopped as Shane gave up trying to be incognito. There was no point to it went the paparrazzi recognized him anyway. Therefore, there were some interesting photos taken of us food shopping. My favorite was me glaring at Shane with my arms crossed over my chest while he looked at me with puppy dog eyes holding a box of ice pops he wasn't going to eat. He was allergic to the fruit concentrates in it, which he knew, meaning he'd only eat one and the others would go to waste when he realized they made him too sick to be worth it. The title of the article was pretty funny, "Mitchie playing Mommy already," and then the article went on to explain the picture. They even said I was right. I called the magazine after I read it and asked for a copy of the picture which now sits in one of my many scrap books. Being famous had its perks.

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So, I'm going to not hold my breath -because I would pass out- literally, but metaphorically for your wonderful reviews. They're like a breath of fresh-air. That was a bad pun. See? Lack of oxygen.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, so I just finished writing chapter 7! Yay! After Chapter 7 the story really starts to pick up, I think. The baby will be born somewhere around chapter 10 I think, so… A few things… I got confused when I answered a lot of you on how far Mitchie was. In chapter 7, which I was writing at the time, I figured her out to be 26-27 weeks. In chapter 4 she was about 23-24 weeks. Chapter 5 she's about 26. I'm trying to keep it straight, it's just not working. But she's due in August and conceived on December 3rd… lol. I'm trying to count the weeks. Anyway, I'm sorry if AINE is disappoint anyone. I know it's disappointing me. Hopefully, it gets better as we go.

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Chapter 5:

Living with Shane had become all too easy. Easy and boring, that is. I knew enough about cooking to keep us from eating out every night, and Shane was learning how to cook. Slowly, but he was learning. But aside from doing laundry, cooking, doing the dishes, and occasionally picking up the living room or the bedroom, there wasn't much for me to do. I read; I watched TV; I played my guitar; I played my keyboard; I worked on some new songs. But overall, I was bored.

Bored and lonely on top of it. Caitlyn and Nate were away in Pennsylvania, doing Lord knows what. Jason and Anastasia were back in New York at John's apartment for the time being, although they'd be moving to Massachusetts soon, too. Nicky could only be handled in small doses still, considering she was entirely too bitter for one pregnant woman to handle. Kevin was still mopey and depressed after Savannah dumped him. I needed happy cheery people, and I wasn't getting them. They were all in different states, leaving me to my husband, dog, and boredom.

"I was thinking I should get a job." I informed Shane over dinner three weeks after we'd moved in. It was only the beginning of June and we still had a month until Camp Rock, where Shane would be teaching and I would be helping Brown in the office.

Well, needless to say, that idea was quickly shut down. "Mitchie, you can't get a job for a month, then leave, then go back for two weeks, then go out on maternity, then work while you're off from school so you can take care of the baby. Besides, I think a job would be too much stress." Shane argued gently, trying not to push me too far.

"I need to do _something_. I'm bored. Without Cait or Stas around, I've no one to talk to. Your siblings are both manic-depressive at the moment. And you're busy working on songs for the new album. Baby, I'm bored…" I started whining at the end, hoping to make him crack. I won.

"Fine, we'll figure something out. But no working. And nothing strenuous. You get hurt by laughing, you're not doing anything physical." Shane decided.

I groaned, but agreed nonetheless. That was how I found myself going through fan-mail with Shane. Some were pretty funny, yet some upset me.

"_Dear Shane, I love you so much. You should totally divorce, or annul since I know you're so religious, that cow Mitchie and marry me. She's totally only after your money and fame. I love you. Sincerely yours, -stupid-whiney-preteen-irritating-whore. _Okay, maybe whore is a bit strong. How about home wrecker?

"Am I really a cow?" I asked, upset. "I mean, aside from the whole, being a whale from being pregnant -which is your fault- am I normally a cow?"

Shane wrapped his arms around me, trying to reassure me. "Not at all, you're perfect. I won't break you when I hug you, therefore you are perfect. But you are nowhere near a cow. And I think you make a beautiful, what was it, whale?"

"So you think I look pretty fat?" I asked indignantly, now glaring at him.

He smiled and kissed my pouting lower lip. "You look beautiful pregnant. There's no difference in your beauty, I promise." He shook his head and took the offending letter from me. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No, no. I want to help. Please?" I begged, afraid he was taking away my only form of entertainment.

"Okay, how about I go through and find the ones that are for both of us, only? And you can respond to those for me?" Shane suggested, now digging through the giant bag of fan-mail that was dropped off the day before. "Here, start with this one." He handed me a letter and continued to dig.

Apprehensively, I opened the envelope addressed to Shane & Mitchie Grey. I read it aloud to Shane, who was still digging for others.

"_Dear Shane & Mitchie, hopefully you get this before the baby is born, so I can say, Good Luck! If not, I hope all went well and mother and baby are fine. I'm so glad that you two are beating the odds and are setting a _good_ example for teens these days. A lot of people think its pretty taboo to marry right out of high school, and a lot kids don't think you should wait until marriage to have sex. You guys are amazing. You should be proud of yourselves. Anyway, I just wanted to write you guys and let you know how much I admire you. And that Mitchie, you should totally record a song on your own, because your voice is amazing. I've seen the video from Camp Rock on YouTube and it was absolutely stunning. Sincerely, Naomi Reddington. PS, feel free to give my number to Kevin._ Winking smilely face. Oh my god, Shane, her number is really on here!"

"Seriously?" Shane laughed, not really paying me too much visual attention as he continued to go through the letters. His head snapped toward me though when I stood to grab the phone. "What are you doing?"

"Calling her." I replied, dialing the number. "She seems nice. And that's a local area code. Shane, he's been so depressed, maybe this would be go- Oh! Hi, this is Mitchie, I'm looking for Naomi?" I asked whomever answered the phone. They asked me to hold so I turned my attention back to Shane, "And me calling first will be better, because what if she's like, 13, and isn't supposed to have boys calling or something?"

Shane just shook his head at my antics and let me have my fun. "Hello?" Someone, I assumed Naomi, answered.

"Hi, Naomi?" I asked, "This is Mitchie Grey. Shane's wife?" I introduced myself.

"No way. Who ever this is, this is a really cruel joke." Naomi sounded really upset.

"No, no. I swear, this is me. For real. How can I prove it to you?" I asked, desperate for to know I was really who I was. I didn't want the poor girl to think someone was playing cruel jokes on her.

"Um, sing?" She suggested.

I smiled and let out a small breath of relief. Singing I could. "This is real, this is me, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now…"

"Oh my god, it really is you!" Naomi cried out in excitement. "I admire you, so much. How did you get my number?" She asked.

I smiled to myself and answered, "Well, you left your number in the letter you sent to Shane and me, requesting we pass it on to Kevin. A. I wanted to thank you, very much for your letter. You wouldn't believe some of the things other letters say. Your letter was quite uplifting."

"Oh I'd believe it." She replied. "There are people all over the C3 and Shane sites that bash you guys. And poor Stas, it's even worse on Jason's pages. I try to defend you guys, but I'm only one person, ya know?"

"And we appreciate it, trust me. But, I was also calling because B. Kevin's in a bit of a funk over his last relationship, so I don't want to set him up with some crazy girl. But you _seemed _nice enough in your letter, and now. Where are you from? The number is local, so I figured you live in or near Boston?" I asked, already making plans in my head.

"I live in the next town over, actually. Why?" She asked.

"Well, I thought if you were serious about Kevin, we could go out to lunch and I could get to know you and see if I think you'd be good for my Kevvy." I explained.

Shane chuckled next to me. "I still can't believe he lets you get away with calling him that."

"Oh my god, was that Shane? Can you tell him I said hi? And, okay, fan girl back in check, promise." I laughed at Naomi's words.

"Naomi says 'hi'." I told Shane. "And her fan girl was checked quite easily. I'm impressed." Shane gestured for the phone and took it from me.

"Hello, Naomi." I heard a small squeal and then an apology. Shane laughed and put the phone on speaker. "It's fine. I promise. So, I hear you want to date my brother?"

"I promise it's not because he's your brother! I'm a theatre geek, so I go to all of the local high school's plays, and your brother is amazing at what he does. And I definitely did not think you'd ever call me or give him my number. I did that on a whim." She spoke quickly, her nervousness evident.

Shane chuckled to himself as he shook his head. "We hook my loud, out-going sister up with a popstar and my quiet, shy brother up with fan." He looked over at me and smiled. "Seriously, could we try normal people next time?"

"Hey, we did amazing on the first one. Your sister screwed that up. Oh, I mean, um, Naomi, ignore that please?" I begged, realizing we were on the phone with a fan at the moment.

"No problem." She promised. "We're all actually waiting for them to get back together."

"You aren't the only ones." I mumbled while Shane poked me in the arm. "Ow. Anyway, are you free on Saturday?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." Naomi agreed.

After settling plans with Naomi, Shane went back to reading fan mail. I personally, started playing matchmaker. I knew Kevin wouldn't want to be set up on a blind date, or be ambushed with a cute girl. Then again, I didn't even know if she was cute. Oh well, Kevin wasn't shallow. I decided that I would force Shane to go out with Kevin for the day after he dropped me off at the restaurant, and then have them pick me up. I'd say Naomi wrote me a really nice letter, so I wanted to meet up with her. Kevin would be smitten, hopefully, and my work would be done. Somehow, I didn't actually see things working out so easily, but I hoped.

I called Caitlyn immediately to get her opinion on the situation and whether or not she thought my plan would work. She'd been distant lately, but I didn't think she'd not answer her phone and completely ignore me. So instead of leaving a message, I called again. She answered that time.

"Hello?" She answered apprehensively.

"Hey, Cait. How's everything been? I haven't heard from you in a while?"

"Ev-everything's fine. The usual, you know. Sorry if I've been in my own world lately. You know how hard it c-can be living alone with a guy you really, really want to sleep with and you c-can't because you're n-not m-married." She was stuttering and I wasn't really sure why.

"Cait, you and Nate aren't having sex, are you?" Shane's head snapped toward me as I asked the question.

"N-no. But it's s-so hard being here and not. I mean, it's like, once you've tasted the forbidden fruit, you want more. It's h-harder for us than it was f-for you. Only Shane had had sex and you _wanted_ to. We've both had sex- together. It's just… h-hard. I'm getting seriously bitchy and the last thing we need is for me to be a bitch to the hormonal pregnant woman, ya know?"

I sighed, knowing she was right. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Shane and I aren't having sex anymore."

Shane looked at me in confusion. "We aren't?" He asked, at the same time Caitlyn asked, "You aren't?"

"You guys have an amazing sex life. I find it very hard to believe that moving in together has made it so that your sex life has dwindled…" Caitlyn scoffed, not believing me.

"Oh, believe me it's not a lack of desire to." I explained to Caitlyn before turning to Shane. "We aren't. I decided that after the last time."

"Why then?" Caitlyn asked curiously.

"Pregnant sex is not fun." I pouted. Realization settled on Shane's features and he nodded in agree before kissing my temple. "Shane's a little too cautious because he's afraid he's going to hurt the baby. I'd rather be sexually frustrated not getting any then sexually frustrated because of what I am getting."

"Mitchie!" Caitlyn laughed. "That was messed up."

Shane took the phone from me. "Unfortunately, she's right though, Cait." Shane pouted. "Wait until you're pregnant and see how wonderful Nate is in bed."

"Awe, poor Shane." Caitlyn teased. "Does this mean I get to tell Stas that Dracula's coming back?"

Shane mumbled something along the lines of 'probably' and went back to what he was doing. If only he knew.

"So, what's been up with you? I've been so bored out of my mind, that I'm setting Kevin up with a fan that wrote us an amazing letter and ps'd her phone number for him."

"Oh, that's cool. I've, uh, not been up t-to, um, to much lately either. V-visiting Nate's family a lot. Getting to know his niece."

"Nate has a niece?" I asked, utterly surprised.

"Yeah, he apparently has a half sister I knew nothing about because she wanted nothing to do with his father after he was born, but she and the girl's father were killed in a car accident, and Mr. Frances is the next of kin. So, Marybeth is living at Nate's parents now. It's very awkward for her, so she likes talking to me. I'm not related to her in anyway and her mother had no preconceived hatred of me." Caitlyn explained, rather rushed.

"Oh. Shane, did you know that Nate had a half-sister?" I asked.

"Had?" Shane asked. "As in doesn't anymore or did you mean has?"

"She died, apparently. Caitlyn's befriend his niece." I explained.

"Damn. Nate must be taking that pretty hard." Shane commented.

"Why? Where they close or something?" I asked, not caring which answered me.

"Nope. He never met her." Caitlyn answered, equally confused.

Shane sighed. "Nate always wanted to make amends with his sister. He hated the fact that she blamed him for his father leaving. Until he was born, she was convinced her father would come to his senses and leave Nate's mom. But she saw the way her father looked at Nate and realized he was never coming home to her and her mother, and refused all contact. She 15 at the time."

"Poor Nate." I awed, tears welling up in my eyes. Seriously, hormones were only good when I could use them as an excuse. Times like this, not so good. "No wonder he wants a family so much."

"Wow, so Nate's reason isn't too far off from mine." Caitlyn whispered to herself, but I heard. "Hey, uh, Mitchie, I need to go talk to Nate. I'll, um call you later or something, okay? And keep me updated on the whole Kevin-fan girl thing, okay? Love you, bye!" She quickly hung up.

I stared at the phone for a while before Shane finally took it out of my hand and broke my trance. "Do you think there's something up with Cait? She's been distant and antsy for a while now, but on the phone she was stuttering when it was about her and Nate, and rushed when it was about Marybeth."

"I don't know." Shane replied, kissing my head. "Let's get started on dinner, I'm hungry." I nodded and he helped me up and into the kitchen where I began cooking, laughing while he attempted to help.

There was definitely something up with my best friend, but I honestly had no idea what it was. I wondered briefly if maybe all of the 'commitments' per say were getting to her. Between Jason and Stas' engagement, Shane & I moving in together _finally_, the baby… I wondered if she was freaking out about being left behind or being shoved forward.

Hers wasn't the only relationship I was interested and worried about, though. Nicky was growing increasingly harsh with Chuck, who was seriously on his last nerve. She accidentally called him Riley earlier that week, and Chuck was pretty pissed off at her at the time, but had seemingly let it go. I was waiting for her to realize that Riley would take her back if she just told him the truth. But she was convinced Riley hated her.

Plotting began in my mind, but I quickly stopped it, forcing myself to meddle in one in-laws love life at a time. Once I had Kevin happy again, I'd worry about Nicky. Kevin didn't do anything wrong, therefore he had priority, though Nicky might have been a tad more miserable due to the self loathing on top of everything else.

I looked at Shane and smiled as he kissed my cheek, his hands covered in uncooked meatloaf that he was mixing. At least I knew of one relationship definitely working at the moment. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly certain how long that moment was going to last.

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I know, I know, what's wrong with Naitlyn??? You aren't supposed to know. And the point of a POV story is that you see it from the narrator's view. I'm not writing any other POV's except maybe the births through out the story. Like, the first time Shane holds his newborn child, or whoever else. Kay? Kay.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! So, I'm bored… meaning you guys get an update because I'm bored. This one is mostly Mitchie-Naomi. As I've said, she has two functions, for Kevin and then for Mitchie as well. But yeah, I had my author's not written and then my roommates boyfriend accidentally hit the fusebox in our room and somehow, my laptop was missing its battery… so I lost it. =( Oh well. So, now you get the readers digest version of… everything is coming soon in the coming chapters. I promise.

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Chapter 6:

Saturday came _way_ too slowly for me. Shane thought I was insane, but I was anticipating my lunch date with Naomi with maybe too much enthusiasm. I'd called her, again, earlier in the week just to chat. Okay, so I was bored out of my mind and Anastasia and Caitlyn were both busy, but still. I liked her. She was older than Kevin, but not by much. She was a junior and had just turned 18, having missed the cutoff for school. The twins had turned 17 in March. I thought an older girl might actually be good for Kevin. Their relationship might actually be on a more serious and mature level, something more Kevin's style. Of course, he had been with Savannah for a long time, and I believed he really did truly love her at one point, but in the end they were too different. Naomi, though, was quite religious and believed in no sex before marriage, though admitted if the right guy came along, she might amend that. But she'd have to know she was in love and willing to spend the rest of her life with that person.

Shane laughed at my sheer giddiness as he drove me to the restaurant I was meeting Naomi at. It was little outdoor café. I knew there would be pictures somewhere of this tomorrow, but I didn't care. I'd become quite used to seeing myself everywhere. It didn't bother me so much anymore.

"I really need to get my license." I complained as Shane pulled up to restaurant in the recently purchased SUV he'd bought. We had a bit of an argument when I found out about that one.

"I don't mind driving you." Shane assured me. "I like knowing you're getting where you're going safely."

"Shane, seriously, I'll need my license once the baby's born." I sighed.

He laughed. "Fine, fine." He relented. "Go." He commanded, kissing me lightly.

"I'll call when you and Kevin need to come pick me up." I reminded him as I climbed out of the large pain in the butt known as our new vehicle. Did I mention that being pregnant made it difficult to climb in and out of that thing and made me grumpy?

"Love you!" He called out the window.

"Love you, too!" I called back before he pulled away.

I sat down at a table and waited. I arrived early, knowing she'd be able to spot me easier than I could spot her. I was sipping on my pink lemonade when a nervous voice asked, "Mrs. Grey?"

I looked up to see a stunning raven haired girl with tanned skin looking down at me. I smiled seeing her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. She was nervous and that made me feel bad.

"Please, call me Mitchie. Mrs. Grey is my mother-in-law. I feel old when people my age call me that. You're only a year younger than me!" I complained playfully. "Sit, sit. Waiter!" I called, ushering the waiter over as Naomi sat down next to me at the small table.

While I waited for Naomi to order her drink, I took the time to appraise her appearance. Kevin didn't like snobby, label obsessed girls. He didn't mind if they dressed that way, just as long as they're style didn't scream _Hollister_ or _Abercrombie & Fitch_ upon first sight. She was wearing layer tanks with a half-jacket over them and form-fitting but not tight jeans. She was perfect in terms of style. Her make-up was light and natural, another bonus for Kevin.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem like a theatre geek. I don't see the designer glasses or the scarf. I think you lied to me." I pouted playfully.

"Oh, trust me, I am. I just don't see the point in all that, you know? I'm kind of like a hipper Jamie Sullivan from A Walk To Remember minus the cancer."

"What's your favorite type of theatre?" I asked curiously.

"Musicals. That's why what Kevin does is so amazing to me. I mean, he was a freshman when he was student assistant director for Anything Goes. I mean, the director ended up having a nervous breakdown, so they had another teacher fill in, but Kevin had to do most of the directing and whatnot. How amazing was that?" Naomi gushed.

I think my jaw might have hit the floor. Naomi clearly knew things about my brother-in-law that I did not. We didn't have normal conversations, and definitely didn't really talk during his freshman year. I had no idea he did that. "Wow." Was all I managed to say for a few moments. "I didn't know that. Kev and I weren't that close during his freshman year. I was kind of the abstract brother's girlfriend who he mumbled hello to and that was all. You'd be surprised to see us back then compared to now."

"That does make sense. He's really shy, I hear. I went to a summer program with one of the girls who was in Anything Goes, and she said he should have had the lead, but he didn't even audition." Naomi explained.

"Yeah, Shane and Kevin are yin and yang. They're alike in so many ways, but then there's things like that are polar opposite. Shane loves the spotlight, but Kevin prefers to hid in the shadows."

"That sounds like someone else I know." She looked pointedly at me. "Hiding from their abilities."

"Who? Me? Who said I was hiding?" I stammered.

"People aren't going to dislike your music just because your husband is a famous singer." She replied offhandedly. "Then again, if you wanted to hide behind something, you could always sing with Caitlyn as a duo without needing to establish names."

I glared slightly at her for a moment. "Did my husband put you up to this?" I asked.

She laughed whole-heartedly, a deep, refreshing laugh, not a fake annoying one. "No. I promise you, Shane had nothing to do with it. But I loved your song with him so much, that I looked up Camp Rock, because I knew that's where you guys met, and you were singing live and it was… amazing. I really do think you have an amazing voice."

I smiled at her and replied, "Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear."

"Well in that case, have I told you look amazing today?" She smiled playfully.

"Okay, now I know you're either lying or working for Shane." I laughed at her.

"Is he really as sweet as they make him appear? I mean, I know he was a bad boy way back when. I just always wondered if Shane Grey was really the same behind the image?" She asked me, not in a fan-digging-for-information kind of way, but more of a general curiosity that Caitlyn or Anastasia would ask in.

"He's more than sweet. He's damn near perfect. His only flaw is that he _is_ damn near perfect. He's always trying to protect me and is always so understanding. It just gets upsetting, you know? Sometimes you _want_ to fight. To scream and yell and just let out some frustration. But he doesn't ever get mad at _me_. I'm usually the one starting the fights because he did something stupid, like plan a European tour without telling me." I answered honestly.

"Oh, harsh. But clearly," She gestured to my swollen tummy, "The separation did you some good. Didn't you conceive during his break from tour?"

I smiled and rubbed my stomach affectionately. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But he didn't tell me about it until Jason accidentally ousted him."

"I can understand your gripe then." Naomi nodded.

"So, tell me more about you. I like you, and so far I think Kevin will, but I'd like to be certain." I smiled.

"Um, I like the color purple, all different shades of it. I listen to anything that can be considered rock: metal, pop rock, hard rock, a little ska. I prefer Christian bands and bands that don't curse in their music or objectify either gender. Basically, good influences. I mean, I know people curse, I do at times, but that's not the kind of thing that kids should be hearing, you know?" I smiled at her in disbelief as she kept talking. "Um, I love reading. My favorites are Vampire Romances. I know, odd for a good little Christian girl. My heart is in the theatre. I love to sing and act and dance. I'm planning on going to a performing arts school for college and dream of being on Broadway… um, what else do you want to know? I feel like I'm being interrogated." She laughed searching for anything else to say. "I hate tomatoes. I think they're weird." She shrugged.

I laughed out loud at that. "Ow." I groaned slightly. I needed to stop laughing so hard.

"Did you hurt yourself? Oh my god, is the baby okay?" Naomi asked, alarmed.

"I'm fine. I need to not laugh so hard anymore. Don't worry, I'm fine. Anyway, I'm going to call Shane for dessert. He's bringing Kevin." Naomi's eyes widened in surprise. "Relax. It'll be fine." I assured her. I called Shane and he said they'd be there in a few.

I stood up to hug Kevin when he came into view. Shane must have been parking the car. "Kevvy!" I smiled.

"Mitchie!" He laughed, hugging me back. When he turned to greet Naomi out of politeness, his jaw hit the floor. It was quite comical. She had stood up when I had and was now looking up at him through her lashes and biting her lip out of nervousness. "H-hi." He stuttered. "I'm, I'm Kevin. Mitchie's- uh, brother-in-law."

"I know. I'm Naomi." Seeing his shyness, Naomi's nervousness broke and she was her warm welcoming self again. "Mitchie's been telling me a lot about you, although I already knew a bit."

Kevin's eyes lost a bit of their sparkle as he turned me. "Tell me you're trying to hook me up with one of Shane's fans and I think I might disown you." He growled.

"Actually," Shane said as he joined us and threw an arm around his brother's shoulder, "She sent us a very nice letter and added her number to the bottom of the letter, asking we pass it on to you. Because Mitchie is insane, she called her and decided she'd have lunch with her to see if she should hook you up with her. Obviously, the verdict was we like Naomi. Correct?" Shane turned to me. I was glaring at him and Naomi was twelve shades of red. "What? Oh, please. She's seen plays you've directed at your high school. It had less to do with me than you'd think, Kev." Shane assured him. Then he turned to me, "Besides, don't you think he'd be a little more upset if we told him that we just happened to think they should meet? All we're doing is setting up the meeting. Part of the attraction is already there."

I rolled my eyes at my husband's density and sat back down. "I'm sorry, Kev. I thought maybe you'd at least make a new friend. She really loves your directing abilities."

"Wait, Naomi… Reddington?" Kevin asked, remembering something. Naomi nodded, confused. "You were the lead in your school's plays for the last two years, weren't you?" He sat down in the empty chair next to her.

"Yeah. I was. Did you see them?" Naomi asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah." Kevin smiled. "We like to scope out our competition for the Playhouse awards. You were amazing."

Naomi laughed. "Thank you. And that is too funny. That was why I saw your play freshman year. The show was amazing. I've admired you so much for that."

Shane gestured with his head toward the parking lot as Naomi and Kevin began talking about theatre stuff. Shane pulled out his credit card and threw it at Kevin. "Call me when you need picked up." Shane laughed as he stood up.

"I can drive you." Naomi offered. "I drove her, so…"

"That'd be great. I'll give this back at dinner tomorrow. Thanks, bro." Kevin smiled up at us. "And thanks, Mitchie. I'm not mad at you."

"Good. Well, now I'm going to plot your sister's happiness. Let me know if you have any ideas, okay?" I leaned over and kissed his cheek and hugged Naomi, who seemed quite surprised but not offended.

"Let Nicky solve her own problems." Shane complained, pushing me gently toward the car. "She makes them herself."

"Well, maybe I could fix Riley's problem then. He's miserable without her. I know he is. Please, Shane?" I pouted as he helped me into the car.

He sighed. "Whatever makes you happy. But I am _not_ getting involved in this one. I don't want to hurt Riley anymore than I already have by convincing him to break up with my sister in the first place."

I awed and placed my hand on his thigh. "Baby, don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault. You just gave him the best advice you could. Nicky's the one that screwed it up, not you."

He shook his head anyway. "I should have known my sister well enough to know that she'd just let him go like that."

"But you didn't know that she'd move on. No one knew that." I tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working.

"Anyway, Jason called. Stas is starting to crack. You might want to call and check up on her." Shane advised.

"Yeah, no problem. I will when we get ho-" I yawned. "-me… after a nap that is." I smiled.

"You want company for that nap?" Shane smirked at me.

I glared playfully at him. "We are not having sex!" I chastised him. "But I would _love_ someone to cuddle…"

"Then by all means, we shall cuddle." He replied teasingly.

"Oh, that reminds me. Speaking of cracking and sex, have you talked to Nate lately?" I asked curiously.

"Not really, no. Why? Did Cait mention them having sex?" He asked alarmed.

I shook my head no. "No, but I was just wondering if maybe Nate was more willing to share what's going on with them. Caitlyn's not giving me much to go on." I pouted.

Shane rubbed my knee as he often did to soothe me. "Relax. They're grown adults. There's only so much we can do. Watching out for them when we were younger and making sure Nate kept his promise… well, that was one thing. But he's broken that promise, whether it was once or if it's on a daily basis, and we aren't their keepers. We have our own child on the way to worry about."

I sighed, knowing he was right, but it didn't make me feel any better. "Yeah, but how can you be so calm about our friends pulling and drifting away from us?"

Shane sighed and I didn't like the resignation I heard in it. "I knew this would happen." He mumbled, parking in the garage of our apartment building.

"What would happen?" I demanded, not getting out as he opened his own door to do.

"You're going through separation anxiety from Caitlyn." He said softly, looking defeated, with one hand on the steering wheel propping his body up slightly and one leg hanging out of the door.

"What? That's ludicrous." I replied, still not getting out the car. Shane however, huffed slightly and moved out of the vehicle and leaned on the seat to look at me.

"Mitchie, as long as you and Cait have been friends you've lived together, not being separated for more than a few weeks at the most, and that was when you weren't that close yet. You were friends, not yet sisters. Just because you don't know every intimate detail about her life anymore, you feel like the two of you are drifting, though you're not. You just aren't around to experience her life and see her reactions anymore. I promise you that Caitlyn is not hiding anything from you. And if she is, well, then, there's most likely a reason for it, okay? Do you tell her everything anymore? Like about all of the things we do?"

"No, I don't want to make her jealous. She can't have sex with Nate, so I'm not going to tell her about our sex life in illicit detail, though I do tell her the basics." I replied, slightly condescending. Why could I tell her things but she couldn't tell me?

Shane sighed. "Let's go take that nap, okay?" He said, moving away from the car.

I followed him out as quickly as I could and continued the conversation we were having. "We are not done talking yet."

"Mitchie, please, you're tired. Can we finish this when you aren't? I don't want you getting yourself worked up because I'm not understanding your view on this. But it's not coming out how you're intending. Nor are you understanding my stance on this issue and I don't want to fight with you." He pleaded, holding my arms in his hands gently.

I huffed, the fight still clinging within me, but I knew I had to let it go for now. He was right, I was tired. And I knew he didn't want to fight with me. He hated when we fought. It reminded him of his parents when he was younger. I may have been cranky, hormonal, and tired, but I wasn't heartless. I dropped the argument and contented myself with cuddling against his side as we walked to the elevator.

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Blah. I don't feel well. Later.


	7. Chapter 7

So, some ass just pulled the fire alarm in my dorm at 2 in the morning, so rather than go right back to sleep, I thought I'd post chapter 7 for you all to wake up to. You finally get your Naitlyn answer! Or part of your Naitlyn answer. I do but I don't like this chapter, it seems a bit jump to me… but I like the content of it. So, next chapter, some major Smitchie drama. And I know you guys want to read more about the other couples, but this is a POV story, just like the last two. It'd be very awkward to mention by the way, this is what so and so is doing. None of them live together anymore, so throwing random tidbits about other characters throws off the flow. Okay, I'm done. Oh, and glad you all like Naomi. She's in the one, too. I'm trying to make the chapters long, but I've cut down on the pointless filler-ing of chapters even more than in the last two stories, so it's a wee bit difficult to put single events into long chapters. But I hope you all like this one!

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Chapter 7:

"I'm engaged!" Caitlyn shrieked through the phone later that week.

Shock was evident on my face as I dropped the phone. I was ecstatic for my friend, but it took a bit for the words to process. Shane gave me a confused look as I stared straight ahead. He quickly picked up the phone off the floor.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Shane! We're engaged!" Caitlyn laughed through the phone. He sighed and smiled. "Bout time. Though, next time you have news like that, don't tell a pregnant woman like that, please? I think you put her into shock." He chuckled, leading me to the couch to sit down.

I finally snapped out of it. "CAITLYN!" I yelled, taking the phone back from Shane. "What in the world? Why did you choose to tell me that over the phone? And how long have you been hiding this from me? Is this why you've been so distant?" I demanded.

Caitlyn hesitated and stuttered, "N-no. I mean, sort of. No, well… he, uh, he… proposed a few weeks ago… yeah, he proposed a few weeks ago when we first got here, and I couldn't give him an answer then. I wanted to know my answer before I told you."

Her story seemed slightly off, but I believed her nonetheless. "Wow. You made him wait _weeks_?" I gasped, unintentionally. "That's kinda harsh."

"Well, he… mentioned it… a few weeks ago, and then actually asked, um, in the last couple of days." Caitlyn stuttered again.

"Oh, okay. Oh yay! We get to plan two weddings now!" I clapped happily, cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear.

"Yeah, but we want a _long_ engagement. None of this… a few months to plan stuff." Caitlyn insisted. "I'll think I'll die of a heart attack or a stroke if I try to plan a short wedding. Besides, we won't really _plan_ until after Stas' wedding. Which, I hear is taking more out of her than she thought it would? What's going on with that?" Caitlyn commented.

"Yeah, her grandparents are less than thrilled about the wedding and are trying to make it impossible for them to get married. But now Stas really wants to get married in Serbia, and really wants her family there. When she was little, she always imagined going back to Serbia and having a fairytale wedding… and her family is making that dream impossible."

Shane looked deep in thought for a moment, seeing as he hadn't heard the full story about why she was cracking the other day when Jason called. He seemed to be plotting something, too.

"Ask Cait if Nate's busy?" He requested. I did, he wasn't. "I'm gonna go call Nate." He kissed my temple and went into our bedroom to call Nate. It was odd, but I didn't question it.

"Well at least I, hopefully, won't be pregnant at your wedding." I sighed. "I know Stas is being super awesome and everything. But… I'm really not looking forward to a transcontinental flight at 6 weeks before I'm due."

"I can understand that. I promise. No flying to get to my wedding, even if you're not pregnant. We can take a train to Pennsylvania if we must."

"Wow, you already know where you're getting married?" I asked, slightly impressed.

"Well, Nate's family is here. My parents are wherever. And you guys aren't too far away either… and… our house is here."

"_Your house_?" I asked in utter surprise.

"Well…" It sounded as if she was blushing. "It's Nate's house… but we're mar- getting married. So, it's _going_ to be _our_ house. It's already our _home_." She explained.

"Awww. Cait, I'm so happy for you. But remember," I began teasingly, "You still can't have sex even if you're engaged!"

"Mitch-ie!" She whined in response.

"Hey, can you put that on speaker?" Shane asked, coming back into the room. I looked puzzled but did so. I then realized that Caitlyn had, too, and that Nate was there with her.

"So, what's up with the conference?" I asked waiting for him to say something.

"Nate and I flying out to Serbia tomorrow." Shane said, looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry, what?" I demanded. "You're going to _Serbia_ tomorrow?"

"We're going to talk to Stas' grandparents, Mitch." Nate explained.

"Why?" Caitlyn asked.

Shane sighed. "Because they don't seem to understand how much this is killing Stas. She loves Jason _and_ she wants to please her family _and_ she wants her dream wedding. If she weren't marrying Jason, she'd have all that in a heartbeat from her family. But they don't understand the way Jason and Stas care for one another. Stas is like our little sister and we hate seeing her so torn." He explained.

"Awwww." I cooed cupping Shane's cheek. "That's so sweet."

Nate chuckled. "Does that mean we're not in trouble?" He asked.

I laughed, too. "As long as Cait's butt is up here with me while Shane's gone."

"Absolutely. I don't want to be in this big old house by myself!" Caitlyn cheered.

"Okay, we'll see you guys in a few hours. We're going to pack." Nate said.

"See you later, Mitchie! Bye Shane!" Caitlyn called before hanging up.

"What time will they be here?" I asked, putting the phone back on it's cradle.

"Around 11, probably." Shane figured. "Why?"

"Because you're caring and incredibly sweet side happens to turn me on." I smiled, pulling on his loose tie.

"I thought we weren't having sex anymore until the baby was born?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who said anything about sex, Dracula?" I teased, pulling him towards our bedroom.

Shane groaned but followed without any resistance.

I had quite a few marks by the time Nate and Caitlyn finally got to our apartment. Which of course, they made fun of us for.

"Well, as much as I've missed you. The pregnant woman is tired. Night guys." I hugged each other them and kissed Shane's cheek before going to my bedroom.

I was almost asleep when I felt the bed dip and Shane slid in next to me. He kissed my shoulder and draped his arm over my stomach, caressing it lightly like he did every night. "Love you." I heard him mumbled against my shoulder, just before sleep took me.

I woke up to the smell of breakfast. This, of course, scared me. I quickly threw on Shane's sleep pants and one of his larger t-shirts. When I entered the kitchen, Caitlyn and Nate were making breakfast together, looking entirely too cute and adorable for their own good. Shane was at the table, writing lyrics, of course.

"Hey, Nate… how does this sou- oh, hey, baby." He stood up as I waddled into the kitchen. I saw Caitlyn and Nate smiling at us out of the corner of my eye as he bent down and kissed me, then my stomach. I giggled as he did so.

"I smelled breakfast and was afraid that Shane was burning down our apartment." I said as I sat down in the chair with my hand on my back. I had a feeling our baby was going to be a big one because I was a little larger than normal. The doctor's said there's nothing wrong with that and it can be a good thing sometimes.

"Hey now, I can at least make breakfast…" He pouted sitting next to me and going back to his songbook.

"Baby, toast does not count." I teased. He glared and went back to writing. "When do you guys leave for your flight?" I asked.

Nate turned from where he was helping Caitlyn and answered, "In about an hour or so."

I nodded and ran a hand over my stomach. "Oh. How long are you going to be gone for?"

Shane shrugged. "However long it takes to prove to Stas' parents that Jason loves Stas more than anything in this world, and that those feelings are reciprocated. Who knows how long that will take."

"Oh. Well, don't be gone too long." I requested.

Shane kissed my temple. "I promise. I'll be back by the 24th."

"Breakfast is served." Caitlyn said as she and Nate placed plates brimming with food in front of all of us. Shane moved his book off the table and we all began eating.

We talked about nothing important while we ate. I was sad that Shane would be gone for a week, but I couldn't really complain. He was doing something amazing for Anastasia and Jason.

When they finally left for the airport, Shane kissed me good and promised to be home by the 24th. I didn't really understand why he was so insistent about that date, but let it go. I knew he had to be home before the 30th since we would be at Camp Rock again until the wedding, then we'd be back afterward.

"Okay, girls' night!" Caitlyn bounced excitedly as we sat around wondering what to do. "We can call up Stas, Miss Mopes A Lot, and Kevin's new girlfriend, or whatever she is."

"They're 'dating' but they're not _dating_. They're getting to know each other at the moment. But, yeah, we can call Naomi. I love her." I smiled. "She really does like Kevin for Kevin. Shane is just a bonus to her. I mean, usually it's the other way around, you meet the rock star brother through the normal, average brother; not meeting the normal brother you've had a crush on for 2 years through the rock star brother's crazy wife over a fan mail letter." I took a small breath, scaring Caitlyn with my endless speaking.

"Like, if someone said 'How did you meet?', she would answer 'Oh, I wrote Mitchie a really nice letter and jokingly added my number for her to give to Kevin. And then she and I met up and then Shane brought Kevin, and the rest is history!' How odd is that?" Caitlyn continued to look at me oddly.

"You are beginning to ramble more than normal." Caitlyn commented, flicking on the TV. "Let's watch Hot Tunes. We haven't in _ages_."

"Okay." I agreed, settling myself on the couch with my feet propped up on an ottoman. "My back hurts." I complained lightly.

"I'm sorry." Caitlyn said. "Do you want an ice back or a hot water bottle or something?" She offered, but I declined, saying I would be fine.

Instead, we gave our attention to Hot Tunes they were in the middle of a report about Riley. _"…the teen pop sensation hasn't been the same since December when he reportedly split from his girlfriend, Nicky Grey, sister of Connect 3 front man Shane Grey. Friends and family are worried about his anti-social, reclusive nature now, something he's never been known for before._

"_In related news, a Pregnant Smitchie have been out and about. Mitchie met up with a new friend at an outside café, were they were later joined by Shane and his brother Kevin. Smitchie left, leaving the younger companions alone. Grey's band mate Jason Bishop is getting married in what is being speculated as a July wedding in _Serbia_. Fiancée, Anastasia Dragomir's parents emigrated from there 25 years ago, though she's still close with the family they left behind. No update on the last member of Connect 3, Nate Frances who has, so far, not yet popped the question like his bandmates. He says 'We're taking it slow. Our friends are all ready for that step, but we're content with where we're at. Besides we're in no rush to start our own family just yet. We're happy waiting for Mitchie to have the baby and occasionally baby sit.' Connect 3 is currently working on their new album, though the release date has only been said to be after the baby is born and Shane has time. A new tour is most likely out of the question any time soon, though, as Shane has said he and Mitchie are uncertain about having a new born on a tour bus._

"_Singer Milla Berra was spotted…" _Caitlyn clicked off the TV.

"Why do we always turn it on at _just_ the right time to hear about our selves?" Caitlyn asked.

"Nate really said you'd baby sit?" I asked slightly awing.

She blushed slightly. "Yeah, he's like… so serious about that. I know he wants kids, but I'm not ready yet. I mean, being married and pregnant at 19 is okay for you… but not for me. You and Shane have always been more willing to move your relationship as far as possible. And Jason and Stas are both in their 20's now, so…"

"Stas _is_ 20 and Jason is turning 22 soon." I replied, rolling my eyes. "They aren't that much older than the rest of us."

"Oh well. Hey, shall we go call up Stas and Nicky and Naomi? It's going to take Stas a little while to get here…" Caitlyn suggested.

"Yeah, you call Stas, I'll call Nicky and Naomi." I replied.

A few hours later, we were spread out around my living room eating junk food and getting to know Naomi.

"Man, this feels like the first time we hung out. Before Jay and I were dating." Anastasia sighed, thinking back to so long ago.

"Yeah…" Caitlyn agreed. "This is like Naomi's initiation."

"We've never included Kevin's girlfriend like this." I thought for a moment. "Guess that makes you special, Naomi. You're our friend and not just his girlfriend."

Naomi blushed slightly. "You guys are so… normal." She commented. "I mean, for being married and or dating the three hottest celebrities in the country, you are very… low key."

"That's why they love them. They aren't money grubbing whores." Nicky laughed. "And they are pretty normal. They're like, the best big sisters you could ask for." All three older girls awed and hugged Nicky in a group hug. "You know what I just realized? Even my twin brother's girlfriend is older than me… I'm still the youngest." She pouted.

"That just makes you the baby of the group and that we love you that much more." Anastasia assured her. "Take it from the oldest."

"So… how is everything with Kevin coming along?" I asked Naomi, curious as to the current state of their relationship.

She smiled and blushed slightly. "I think he's going to ask me out soon. At least I hope so. We hang out all the time… and… he kissed me the other day after our 'date'."

Again all of the girls awed.

"So, where exactly is Shane while we're having a girls' night?" Nicky asked.

"Um…" Caitlyn and I shared a look. "He's in Serbia with Nate."

"What?!" Anastasia screeched. "What is he doing in Serbia with Nate?"

"Convincing your grandparents to back off and let you marry Jason without any problems?" I replied, uncertain of her reaction.

Her face immediately feel blank. "Whoa… seriously? Why?" She asked.

"He heard me telling Cait what you told me, and it made him think… so he called Nate and they decided to go plead your case. You really are like a little sister to him, Stas." I explained.

"Awwwww. I knew there was a reason I liked him." he cooed.

When Shane called after he finally talked to her grandparents, he said it was coming along. They were pretty close to convincing them. It would only take another talk, hopefully and they'd be ready for Anastasia and Jason to get married tomorrow. They were especially impressed with Shane having been married himself and excepting a baby, but also with Nate being engaged.

Anastasia had also called Jason to tell him what his best friends were doing for them. Jason called them immediately and thanked them a thousand times, telling them that they had no idea what it meant to him, but especially Anastasia.

When Shane finally called before leaving Serbia, he said that her family was convinced by the friends that Jason had. That he had a friends willing to go and plead his case, but also that they cared about Anastasia that much as well. It made me think back to when Caitlyn first moved in with me and Dad was impressed by Shane and his friends helping us move them on their own accord.

Shane was home on the 22nd, much to his relief. I hadn't really been sure why he was so anxious to be home by the 24th at first, but quickly learned why. June 26th. My dark day. I hadn't really given into it the year before, but I was consumed with guilt afterwards. I felt like I had forgotten him. My therapist suggested that I reflect on him on his anniversary this year, but try not to let the dark thoughts consume me. Shane was worried that I'd go into a hysterical breakdown because of the pregnancy. Me being roughly 7 months pregnant made Shane nervous about anything that might upset me.

As Shane expected though, I broke down at Justin's grave, but nothing major. Shane was able to keep me calm enough that I would have effected the baby with my hysteria. I didn't leave our bed when we got home though, except to go into the baby's room. I reflected more on how short life could be and how I wanted to live every possible moment I could. I wanted every second with my husband, child, and friends as I could.

By the next day I was fine and readily looking forward to Camp Rock. Somehow, going back there every year always made me remember where Shane and I began. Everything we went through and everything that we gained. From our first meeting, or meetings rather, to the duet, to the time we fought and I threw my ring back at him, to the time we had our 'first date' out on the lake then watched the sunrise with our friends. There were so many memories at Camp Rock for us and I had a feeling we would continue to make many, many more.

* * *

Okay, so blah. Bree's going back to bed now. Toodles.


	8. Chapter 8

So, a few of you have pointed out that pregnant women cannot fly. This is wrong. I've done research. It's not _advised_that they fly in their last 6-8 weeks because they will be away from their primary medical care. However, if they are given the go-ahead from their doctor, most airlines will allow pregnant women to fly. So, it is possible for Mitchie to fly with permission from her doctor, and the fact that Shane is loaded anyway, he could in fact pay Mitchie's doctor to fly out to Serbia _with_ them. As I've explained in the past, I _do_ do research for this story. I don't simply assume things, especially those things I do not know much about. But don't feel bad for questioning things if you're really not sure. Just don't tell me I'm wrong when you're not a hundred percent sure yourself. It reflects badly on both of us.

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Chapter 8:

I was bouncing in my seat as Shane pulled up outside of Camp Rock. We were a day earlier than the rest of the campers. We wanted to spend some time with Uncle Brown before the camp became crazy again.

"Oh, I've missed it," I sighed as I took in the site of the camp.

Shane smiled and rubbed my knee as I stared in awe. "Yeah, that never goes away." He laughed softly.

"Thought you didn't want to be here that first year?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. "I always missed it. I just didn't want to be here. There's a difference." He explained. I wasn't entirely sure, but I let it go when I saw Uncle Brown coming toward us. I quickly threw open my door to meet him.

"Uncle Brown!" I cried waddling as fast I could.

"Well look at you! You're practically glowing, poppit!" He hugged me as best her could. Dee appeared next to him a moment later and hugged me as well, agreeing with him.

"I've missed you guys so much!" I sighed as I relaxed into Shane's arms. He was holding me from behind as we talked. Jacob was running around the area, reacquainting himself with it.

"Well, you two happen to be the people we want to talk to about something very important. Now, I know you were coming early to visit and not talk business, but I really want your opinion on this." Brown began.

"What is it?" Shane asked skeptically.

"Let's go sit down first. Mitchie shouldn't be on her feet so much." Dee insisted, already ushering us to Brown's cabin.

"I'm pregnant, not handicapped." I mumbled.

Shane laughed softly as he helped me up the stairs. "People just worry, baby. Be nice." He chastised slightly.

I glared at him from the two steps I was above him. Sweetly, he placed his hands on my hips, looking up at me with an adorable expression. "We just want everything to be fine. Nobody wants anything to happen to you or the baby. I don't know what I'd do without either of you."

I couldn't stay mad at him and ran my fingers through his hair. "Shane…" I cooed at him. I leaned down to kiss him. "I love you, pop star."

He kissed me back greedily almost, and replied, "I love you, too."

Jacob came running up to us a moment later, pawing at Shane to let him inside the cabin. Shane and I laughed and let him slide past us to Dee who was waiting with treats for him.

Once we were settled comfortably in the living room, Uncle Brown began explaining. "Well, Lava has been very pleased with their results since taking over the camp. Now, they want to expand it even further. They want to take the idea of Camp Rock and turn it into an actual school."

I don't know whose jaw hit the floor first, mine or Shane's, but we both stuttered for a bit before either of us could process what Uncle Brown was saying.

"Wait, like as in make like… a performing arts high school or turn Camp Rock into a full year program?" Shane asked first.

"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. _If_ it were to be made into a whole new program, a new staff would be needed." Uncle Brown prompted. "Either here, or at the new school. We'd prefer someone who knows Camp Rock well enough to run it as well as someone we know personally."

"So, basically, you're telling us you would want, say, us? Or Shane… to run Camp Rock while you ran the school?" I asked, trying to grasp what Uncle Brown was suggesting.

"Yes." Dee replied. "We think you'd do great with the kids here. Unfortunately, even though they run at different times, it'd be too difficult for us to manage both programs. The high school would need to have things planned over the summer for the coming school year, and Camp Rock's planning season begins in the early spring."

"So, we'd be taking over Camp Rock? And Lava is okay with us running it?" Shane asked, still as confused as I was.

"Yes. Whether it'd be here or at a new location, someone else _has_ to run it. And much like they were willing to keep me on board to run it, they're more than willing to let you and Mitchie run it so I can move on to bigger and better things. They, well, they're hoping to groom a new manager who will have as much dedication to this place as I have."

"Well, um, we'll need to talk about it, of course." I explained. "But, it sounds amazing."

Shane seemed to be thinking on his own as well, but had a light shining in his eyes.

"Well, if they were to make the school here, they would have to upgrade the cabins to be winterized, no?" Shane pointed out.

"There would be a lot of things that would need to be upgraded here if they were to make the school here. There would also have to be a few new classroom cabins built to accommodate for the academic courses that would be being taught as well."

"They seem to have it all thought out so far…" Shane commented, letting it all sink it. "Well, Mitchie and I'll get back to you on that, okay? For now, how's everything been for the two of you up here, all alone in the middle of the woods with no one around?" Shane inquired of his Uncle and Dee.

Dee giggled but didn't answer. "Now _that_ is none of your business." Uncle Brown replied playfully.

We spent hours catching up with Dee and Uncle Brown, who hassled me about singing. It was overall pleasant and enjoyable. We really did miss them. When Dee began making dinner, I _tried_ to help but she wouldn't let me. Instead I had to sit and wait until it was done to even _look _at dinner.

"Mmmm… Dee this is so good." I complemented as I took my first bit of the deliciousness she prepared.

"Well, I'm sure it's not half as good as Connie's cooking, but… I try." She replied smiling brightly. "Are you excited to be back? I'm sure she's not letting you in the kitchen though, right?"

"Nope. Uncle Brown's shoving me in the office for him this year. But I am excited. I love coming back here every year. It's… like a second home… or maybe like fifth at this point, but it's somewhere I feel like I'm home." I explained.

Uncle Brown smiled. "That's why I love it here so much." He agreed.

Shane squeezed my hand in agreement, too, a knowing smile in his eyes.

After dinner, Shane and I walked around the camp reminiscing. As I've said, there was just something about Camp Rock that made you remember every insignificant thing that occurred. It was hard to believe that only 3 years ago Shane and I had just met.

I was getting tired from our wandering and sat on a random log near the beach, but not down on the sand. Shane stood behind me, rubbing my shoulders. "What are you thinking about?" Shane asked, noticing the tension in my shoulders.

"How I can't go on the water this year." I replied honestly. "I know you won't let me get in a canoe, right?"

I felt him chuckle slightly as it was too soft to hear. "Very true, love. I won't. Last thing we need is your water breaking early out on the canoe. We can barely get back to camp when we _aren't_ panicking."

I smiled and leaned back against him. "I know. But that's what makes it so much fun!" I replied. "You know, it _is_ nice being out here, alone. Just us and Jake." I commented rubbing my stomach. Jacob was currently running around the beach, but keeping close enough that he could still hear Shane whistle at him to come back.

"Yeah. Just think, if we ran this place… we'd be up here almost year round." I could tell in his voice that he was really considering it.

"What about Connect 3?" I asked, looking up at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He was staring off at the water, lost in his thoughts.

"Connect 3 won't last forever, Mitchie. I mean, we're all growing up, getting married, starting families. Maybe it's time to just… let Connect 3 go. Settle down with a _real_ job, you know?" He sighed.

"Shane, no." I argued, turning to face him as my fears began coming true. "You love your music." I took his hand and placed it on my stomach. "Just because you love us, doesn't mean you have to give up your music."

"I know." He replied, stroking my cheek. "I know you won't let me give up my music for you. You never have. That's why I'm not asking your permission to do it, Mitch."

"Wait, what?" I asked, honestly confused. "What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"We've all been thinking about it… where the band is going after this album. We know we're going to put out a new one, there's no way we can't. But at the same time… how much longer can we keep doing this? You, Cait, and Stas are all in college… we can't be dragging you around the country with us. And, you and me, we have a baby on the way. We can't raise an infant on a tour bus. Do you remember that dream you had way back? About being pregnant and we were on our way home after a tour?" He asked, thinking back to our first year together.

"Yeah…" I said, my voice soft with nostalgia. "We weren't much older than we are now, if we even were. We were on our way home and you were complaining about not getting any. And I told you the next time we went on tour we'd have our own tour bus because the others wouldn't want to deal with a baby in such small constraints. And you teased Nate about being scared of kids." I thought back on the dream I had so long ago that once petrified me.

"Yeah…" Shane trailed off, not saying much for a moment. "Funny how Nate's probably the most excited, huh?" I didn't answer aloud but thought of how funny it was. "I've never forgot that dream. I remember how freaked out you were. And the night we talked about your little, curly haired babies… I remember every conversation we've ever had about our future, Mitch. And I don't think a tour bus is the right place to raise them. What's the point of making a new album every year or two if I can't go out and perform the music for our fans?"

"Shane… no one said you couldn't continue to go out and tour-" I began but he cut me off, feeling the need to further his explanation.

"Baby, you don't get it. I don't _want_ to tour when I have a family waiting at home for me. I can't take you away from school. I've taken enough from you. I can't take everything." He seemed genuinely upset with himself.

With a sudden determination to prove him wrong, I pulled him down onto the log next to me and forced him to look at me. "What have you taken away from me, Shane? Look at everything you've given me!" I argued.

"Mitchie, you don't sing anymore! You've started writing again, but I haven't heard you sing in months! Not even along with the radio! Music used to mean to you what it means to me, and now that you've married a famous pop star you've given up on your dreams! You've resigned yourself to being a music teacher or something instead of a singer like I _know_ you wanted. It's why you went to Camp Rock. Not to just end up going to school and getting a music degree. You had a contract you did _nothing_ with." He sighed, tired from the sudden explosion of emotion ripping through him. "You… you're 19... And married… and pregnant… I love you, with all of my heart, but is this really where you saw yourself at 19? Because it's honestly not where I expected to see myself at 21. At 19 I was falling head over heels for the most… amazing girl I've ever met. And I don't regret _anything_ that's happened in the last 3 years because it's made us, well _us_. But are you honestly happy right now?" He seemed weak at this point, almost afraid to hear my answer.

"Of course I'm happy, Shane." I said softly, lifting his face to look at me. I could tell these things had been bottling up inside of him for a while. "I love you. And, maybe I have given up on being a singer because I don't feel like anyone will take me seriously anymore. But I still write music. Or, I started to get more into again. I mean, a lot of the songs are still mediocre in terms of originality, but I'm writing again. Is this where I expected to see myself at 19? Not at all. Does that scare me? Usually. Would I change it if I could? Never. If giving up my music means my future with you, I'm willing to give it up. But don't you dare give up your music because you think it's unfair. Music is our life, one way or the other. Being on tour with you… helping you write songs… hearing you sing to me when you're trying to work out a kink in a new one… hearing our wedding song which is _you_ singing about _me_… That's all music. That's all apart of who we are. If you give up your music, then… you wouldn't be the man I fell in love with. You wouldn't be my jerky Pop Star." I had tears falling down my face as I choked on the last two lines.

"And by letting you give up your music I've let you give up the woman I fell in love with." Shane sighed, not daring to look me in the eyes. "We've had this fight so many times, Mitchie. You're not the same without your music. I miss the old you. I don't love you any less than I did then… but I feel like I've killed part of you. It's not fair for me to have my music and you not to. And if you're not willing to get back into your music, how can I enjoy mine? You're giving up so much for us, for our family… it's only right I do the same."

"If you give up your music, then me giving up mine is in vain, Shane." I whispered.

"Then don't give up your music! And you know, if we were here… where it's all about the music… neither one of us would have to give up our music. We know you're a lot more organized than I am… I really couldn't run this place without you." To Shane, taking over Camp Rock seemed like the greatest idea in the world. It was perfect solution.

I sighed for a moment as I thought. "Shane, I want you to think about something, And don't answer me now. Answer me when you've thought long and hard. Talked to Nate, to Brown, to my parents, to your parents. I want you to decide which is a better place for our child to grow up: a tour bus moving from city to city during the summer while Mommy's off from school, or isolated in the mountains during the spring and summer?

"This is no longer about you and me anymore. It's about _all_ of us. There's you, and me, and the baby, and Jake… our families… our friends… you need to choose what is best for our family. This is your decision now. You have to decide where you think our family is better off."

Shane immediately began to object. "Mitchie, that's ridiculous. It's not just up to me. It's _our_ family-"

"No, Shane. I know my answer. I want you to think about yours. _Then_ we can talk about this. I'm not influencing your decision at all. I want _you_ to decide." I explained with a soft voice yet undisputable determination.

Shane sighed and leaned his forehead against mine. "I love you. You know that, right?" He asked, his eyes closed. "Everything I do is for you. I want you to be happy."

"I know, Shane." I sighed. "I know."

But no matter how many times I ran his words through my head trying to reassure myself, certain ones kept coming back to haunt me. _What's the point of making a new album every year or two if I can't go out and perform the music for our fans?_ Would he regret choosing us over his fans? _I've taken enough from you. I can't take everything. _Would he suddenly stop being 'selfish' and walk away from me? …_it's honestly not where I expected to see myself at 21. _Where exactly _did_ he see himself at 21? Getting wasted and having his way with whoever he wanted? Was I just his way of getting laid sooner? He kept his vow, did that mean he had to stay pure with anyone else? _And by letting you give up your music I've let you give up the woman I fell in love with. _How much longer until he stopped holding on to that person and gave up? _… it's only right I do the same._ Guilt? Did he feel guilty about our life? All these thoughts brought guilt to mind, my own mixing with his. Is that what our relationship had come to?

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I go home in… 2.5 hours! But I can't eat for another hour because Commons is stupid and doesn't open until 1130. So, you got an update because of my boredum. Oh, and for those of you interested, I'm going to be posting a -god help me- Joe-fic on a JB fanfic sit soon-ish. (Probably today because I'm bored) so, check out my profile for the link if you want to read it.


	9. Author's Note

Okay, I hate doing this to you guys and having gotten your hopes up that it was a chapter, but I need to let you know what's going on. Many of you have sent my reviews and messages that I can't reply to you because they're unsigned or whatever. This past month has been really busy with final projects and what not and now I have pneumonia and am on bed rest. I promise a chapter as soon as I can. This story will be finished, I swear. The past month has just simply been worse and worse.

Thanks for understanding and I'm sorry for getting your hopes up about a chapter. As soon as I can, I promise to update. =)


	10. Chapter 9

Thank you guys for understanding! Once I finally had time to sit down and write, I only got about half of it done before my brother came home for the holiday and took my laptop. Then, of course, my laptop decided to stop working for like a week or so, so I couldn't write and had to try and get it to load in safe mode. Well, the chapter is finally done, edited by the lovely Dracos-Slytherian-Goddess as always, and here for your reading pleasure. Next chapter is the one you've been waiting for! Well, most you have been. And no you don't find out what's up with Naitlyn. There's a tiny preview at the bottom, just to get you excited. But for now, enjoy the Janastasia Wedding. Oh, and I know some of you were confused. Stas is from Serbia not Siberia. They're two different countries. And Allison you had better review! Cause I don't ever get to talk to you anymore, damn it!

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Chapter 9:

Camp Rock started the next day and neither Shane nor I mentioned our argument once. I was actually really busy making sure everyone picked up their schedules and had all of the appropriate forms turned in. It was no wonder Brown felt he needed an assistant, seeing as Camp Rock was bigger than ever this year.

Caitlyn and Nate were teaching, though Jason wasn't. In fact, because they were so busy in Serbia with the wedding, the last third of Connect 3 wasn't even going to be at Camp Rock with us this year. It was hard to believe their wedding was only two weeks away. It seemed like forever still. Once again that internal checklist went off in my head and I realized I was much, much closer to giving birth.

Though I'd spent a lot of time catching up with my parents on the first day, not to mention a lot of one on one time with Mom in the kitchen over the next few days, it was hard to finally realize that I was never going home to them. The process of becoming independent from them began when I first left on tour with Shane, undoubtedly. Yet it wasn't until I realized that Shane and I were about to become a parents ourselves, that I realized I was truly on my own. If things didn't work out with Shane, though the chances were slim, I could have gone back to them. But now I was someone else's parent. It was my job to look out for and care for someone else. If things didn't last between Shane and I, I was always going to have to care for my child. I came to the realization that though I wanted my individuality when it came to Shane, my thoughts now had to be _we_, _us_ and _our_. I was becoming a parent and no longer had the ability to be selfish. Well, if I were a good parent I wouldn't think selfishly. Parent doesn't exactly equal selfless.

Yet I was certain Shane and I could make it… if we got our act together. There was a lot of uncertainty with our growing family. Where would we live? Who would do what? Would our problems work themselves out? Or were we doomed and making a huge mistake?

Every day that passed these thoughts consumed me more and more. I was terrified of giving birth, but I couldn't share my thoughts with anyone, it seemed. I was afraid to tell Shane what was on my mind, and I didn't want to scare Caitlyn with my thoughts. I could see my fears consuming her and making her runaway from Nate again. Anastasia was busy and Nicky was still in her own world, dreading the wedding. Kevin was finally happy again now that he had Naomi and I didn't want to bring him down with my thoughts.

There was also the tiny fear of going into labor early and having the baby in Serbia that bothered me. Or, having the baby while in the air on the plane. Or the plane crashing. Or exploding. Or… just something terrible happenin gin general. _That_ I really couldn't tell anyone or they'd never let me go. And I was _not_ about to miss Jason and Anastasia's wedding. If I had to have my baby in the church to see the say I do, I would.

I saw my doctor the day before we were supposed to leave for Serbia, though and he assured me I was fine and that the chances of giving birth early we slim. That didn't help my other fears but it made flying to Serbia a little easy to handle.

Well, it made it easy for me to deal with. We were being eco-friendly and booked a commercial plane to fly us rather than everyone taking various plans and private jets and what not, though, of course, Lava had offered the jet to us. Even the executives who were invited were taking the plane with us. It was going to be a long flight though, with Nicky and Riley so close together.

"I'm not sitting by him," Nicky insisted as we waited to board the plane. I rolled my eyes as I rubbed my stomach. I found myself doing that a lot lately.

"Why not? I can understand him not wanting to be around you, but why can't you be around him?" I demanded. I was in a not so pleasant mood and Nicky's whining was not helping any.

"Because he's the reason I wasn't allowed to bring Chuck," she replied.

"No… the reason you weren't allowed to bring Chuck was because Jason and Anastasia didn't invite you with a guest. They invited you and Kevin. Kevin wasn't allowed to being Naomi either," I argued.

"Oh they've been officially dating what, a week? So does not count. I've been with Chuck for months!"

"Nicky!" I snapped. "Stop being a bitch about it and just deal with it. _You_ let him go and _you_ told him you were sleeping with Chuck. _You_ hurt _him_. Jason has been friends with Riley before you and him got together. And Anastasia is friends with Riley, we all are. You aren't the one that would get hurt by Chuck being here. Besides, you're just afraid that if Chuck isn't here that you'll do something you'll regret."

"Like what?" She glared at me.

"Like tell Riley the truth and end up cheating on Chuck." I replied knowingly. She pouted next to me the rest of the wait.

I was shocked to find my doctor among those waiting with us, as well. Apparently Shane wanted to make sure I'd be okay if anything went wrong and was paying the doctor to fly to Serbia with us. The only reason it is suggested I don't fly is because I'd be away from my primary care. Well, Shane took care of that. I rolled my eyes, but secretly I felt a lot better flying to Serbia. His words were one thing, but in the event he was wrong and I had to give birth in a foreign country or even on the plane, I'd feel more at ease if I had my doctor there.

Most of the American based guests were flying with us. Everyone else was already in Serbia or coming in from Russia. The bridal parties and the bride and groom's family were the ones who got to sit in First Class. There was enough room for some of the others as well.

Shane gave me a knowing look as Riley and Nicky ended up sitting across from one another. I swear, I totally did not do that on purpose when giving out the tickets. Okay, that's a lie, but it didn't seem all that intentional. They were all expecting me to put them together side by side in the same set of seats. I wasn't forcing interaction, per say. I was forcing coexistence so we could all survive the trip.

I slept in Shane's arms most of the trip, making it very peaceful. I pitied anyone who wasn't accustomed to Nicky though, because with all of the fuss she was making, they'd never get to sleep. She kept trying to switch seats but we wouldn't let her. Everyone knew I was right, that they needed to face each other sooner or later. Why not on an airplane where they were stuck for 14 hours and couldn't escape?

After a few hours, though, I overheard Nicky finally speak to Riley. "I haven't slept with him, you know."

"Nicky, please-" Riley sounded as if he were almost begging her to stop speaking. "I don't need to hear this."

"I think you do." She admitted softly. "You stopped talking to me when I told you that I was thinking about it."

"Because it hurt too much to think about, Nicky. You moved on. I get it. Doesn't mean it doesn't- didn't hurt." He replied just as softly, though much more passionately.

"I thought about it with you, too, Riley." She told him.

"You never told me." He accused gently. "You were young, it wasn't my place to bring up that subject. When you were ready you were supposed to come to me about it. But it doesn't matter now. You're with Chuck."

"Ri-" She began but he cut her off.

"Just stop, Nicky. Please. I'm finally moving on. Please don't make this harder for me." Riley begged and stood up to go to the bathroom, just to escape her.

Neither said anything when he sat back down. I sighed, knowing that at least they were on their way. It didn't seem like it, but they had to confront their problem first. I snuggled deeper into Shane's arms, hoping every worked out.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go," Kevin bounced next to me. "Get up, Mitch!"

"Relax! I know you want to call Naomi, but sit, Boo-boo, sit!" I teased as I woke up completely.

Kevin pushed me lightly and then we finally began to un-board the plane. Anastasia and Jason were waiting for us all when we got off. After many hugs and hello's, we were finally put into numerous limos and taken to one of the various houses we'd all be staying at. Well, except for anyone who rented their own hotel room.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to rest for long when we got to the houses. Instead, we were able to clean up and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. I had to have a small physical done first by the doctor, though, just to make sure everything was okay. I felt like a fat whale getting dressed. Shane, of course tried to convince me otherwise.

"You look amazing. Stop thinking otherwise." He lifted my chin from its downward tilt. "Besides, if Stas sees you pouting she's going to feel guilty about getting married while you're pregnant."

I sighed, knowing he was right and put on the biggest smile I could. "Better?"

"I'd prefer it to be a real smile, but that'll do for now." He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes as we headed downstairs to meet up with everyone else.

The rehearsal dinner went smoothly and we all managed to go through the ceremony without too much hassle. A few speeches were made, but nothing shocking or overly awe inspiring.

All of the girls got together that night for a giant sleep over, instead of a bachelorette party. We spent the night laughing and reminiscing, acting like a bunch of teenagers again. Because really, it wasn't so long ago that we were teenagers, some of us still were.

But in the morning, everything changed. There was excite but wave of nervousness that suddenly hit all of us as well. A stylist was busy doing everyone's hair in classic buns while maids were getting our dresses prepared. It was a bit of a shock to know that this was what Anastasia's parents grew up with and ran away from. Then again, being 17 and expecting a child out of wedlock when you came from strict, rich families probably wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

Sophia, Caitlyn, Elisha, and myself were gathered in Anastasia's bedroom getting her ready when a loud, obnoxious knock sounded through the room. A maid opened the door and had a hushed conversation with whomever was at the door. A moment later she was speaking to Anastasia in Serbian.

"What's up?" Caitlyn asked as the maid went back to the door.

Anastasia didn't look too pleased as she answered, "I have a visitor."

"Oh?" We asked, still confused.

A moment later a rather handsome young man entered the room looking a bit crazed. He began speaking quickly in Serbian, leaving Caitlyn and myself literally lost in translation.

"English!" Anastasia yelled at him. "You _know_ hate talking to you in Serbian. I may speak it fluently, but you speak it pompously."

"Forgive me, my love. I forgot. You know how I get when I'm upset." The man apologized.

I turned to Caitlyn and mouthed 'my love?' to her. She shrugged and looked equally curious. The look on Sophia's face was comical as she listened to him speak. She looked ready to kill someone. She was as protective of Jason as we were.

"If you didn't notice, I'm getting married today. So please, tell me what can I do for you, and get the hell out." Anastasia replied.

"Precisely! You are getting married and not to me! I cannot believe-" he began ranting in Serbian again until Anastasia yelled at him again. "Forgive me. You are betrothed to me, Anastasia!" He cried. "How are you marrying another? You're grandparents would never agree to this!"

"I know I was betrothed to you, Viktor. But my grandparents actually hate you, with quite a bit of passion. They've been trying to find me a new betrothed since you hit puberty. And they said I only had to marry you if I wanted my families' fortunes. Shockingly enough, money doesn't matter to me. I can marry whoever I want if I forgo the fortunes."

Caitlyn and I were stunned. Anastasia was giving up two enormous family fortunes, from what we knew, just so she could marry Jason. If that didn't prove to her family how much she loved him, we weren't really sure what would.

"You're giving up your claims to the fortune? That means your brother gets the Cvetojevic fortune all to himself. If he marries his bride, that is." Viktor exclaimed.

"Which he won't. My brother doesn't want the fortune either. Viktor, was there a reason you came other than to remind me that I'm not marry you? For good reason?" Anastasia asked.

He stood straighter and puffed out his chest quite dramatically, causing myself and Caitlyn to giggle. Elisha didn't even bothered to hide the fact that she was doubled over laughing at his expense. Sophia was still watching him carefully. Anastasia watched him with bemusement playing across her features. "I came to insist that you not make a fool out of you and myself and not marry this man. But seeing as you insist on marrying him, I inform you that I will contest your marriage when the question is asked."

"You will not!" Sophia objected. "You are not ruining my brother's wedding!"

"And you are?" Viktor asked in a bored, unamused tone.

"Viktor, this is Sophia, my sister-in-law. If you object to my wedding, during my wedding, I would not put it past her to hit you." Anastasia introduced. "And this is Mitchie, one of mine and Jason's best friends who is 8 months pregnant and very hormonal. If she doesn't attack you, Shane, her husband and Jason's best friend, will. Simply because you upset her and because he thinks of me as his little sister. John has no qualms about hitting you, either, as he's wanted to since you first called me your wife when we were 10. And my entire family already hates you. But please, if you really feel you must interrupt my wedding, pointlessly, feel free."

"You do not scare me, Anastasia. I will object to your wedding. You are legally betrothed to me and I shall see to it that your marriage is not blessed." Viktor vowed before storming out of the room, almost graceful yet entirely too comical to achieve grace.

After the laughing fit that commenced, Caitlyn was the first to catch her breath. "Okay, who was that and what was half the stuff you were talking about, about?"

"That was the man I was promised to, Viktor. My grandparents had each of us betrothed at birth, or shortly after. Even John has one, though my parents wanted nothing do to with their parents for the first few years. But they at least told my grandparents about him, and my grandparents planned accordingly. Their way of ensuring we all get married to respectable Serbian socialites was to make sure we had their approval of spouses to get our share of the inheritance. Of course, they realized their error with mine as of age 13. John has to marry his by his next birthday or he loses his share of our inheritances. I get the full Cvetojevic inheritance then. Well, I would have. I forfeit it by marrying Jason. Unless, you know, I divorce him and marry Viktor or another Serbian gentleman by my 25th birthday." She looked at her knowingly. "It's safe to say my mother's parents are going to have to find another place for their money or change their rules. It'll probably go to my children instead."

"Interesting. So you miss out on a small fortune for Jason?" Sophia asked.

Anastasia shook her head. "No, I miss out on a huge fortune for Jason." She said begrudgingly. "Grandfather Cvetojevic owns one of Serbia's largest frozen fruit manufacturing companies and Grandfather Dragomir owns the second greatest amount of agricultural land in Serbia. My parents met on a business trip when Grandfather Dragomir came to negotiate selling his crops to Grandfather Cvetojevic."

"Now, by huge, how much do you mean?" Elisha asked curiously.

"5.6 billion Dinar, roughly, last quarter." Anastasia estimated.

"Which is, a lot?" Caitlyn asked.

Anastasia laughed softly to herself. "That's a little less than $90 million."

"You know," Sophia said coming to stand next to Anastasia conspiringly, "You could always marry Viktor, get the money and just have an affair with Jason. I'm sure Viktor would never notice his children having remarkably low IQ's in comparison to his own."

Anastasia smiled and laughed. "I'd take Jason over 90 mil any day."

"Well, if that doesn't say 'I love you for you' to a pop star I don't know what does." Elisha commented.

"Jason… Jason doesn't know how rich I am. Or would be. He doesn't know I'll lose my inheritance, not that he knows how large it is. I don't want him to know." Anastasia admitted.

"You're trying to force your grandparents hand, aren't you, Stas?" I asked. "That's why you wanted their approval so badly. You're hoping they realize they have no heir and will give it to you anyway."

Anastasia sighed, knowing how bad that actually sounded. "It's not like it seems. I'm content with out the money. Without John or I getting the money, my grandfather's company and fortune go to his vice president who is a slimy weasel who doesn't deserve it. I don't want the money. I want the company someday. But for that to happen, they have to accept Jason."

"Oooooh." We all replied.

I waddled my way over to Anastasia and hugged her tightly. Well, as tightly as I could. She hugged me back, giggling slight. "Misses, you… need to… leave, for the… church, soon." A young maid spoken slow, determined English, though she struggled slightly.

"Very good, Isidora." Anastasia compliment. "Isidora's mother was my personal maid every summer I spent here. I tried teaching her English when we were younger but she would always forget by the next summer. She's trying to learn for real this time." Anastasia explained. "And she's doing an amazing job."

It was still old to hear about Anastasia being rich and everything that came with it. To meet her and know her, you'd never think of it. But here she was, now telling us of summers spent in a foreign country with personal maids.

"Thank you, Miss Anastasia." Isidora smiled and curtsied.

"You're very welcome. Okay, let's get me ready to get to the church, shall we?" Anastasia smiled brightly.

I smiled and pulled out a jewelry box. "A gift from your husband. It would seem we've started a tradition. It seems you were lacking the perfect earrings?"

Anastasia's eyes lit up as I opened the box to reveal the beautiful ruby earrings that matched our dresses. "Did Shane or either of you help him?" She asked.

"Nope. Jason has very good taste in jewelry, himself." Caitlyn replied as she placed in one earring and Sophia placed the other. Elisha was busy getting the garter out of its own box while I took my charm bracelet off.

"Something borrowed. You get mine because it has the ring on it." I explained as I placed it on her wrist.

"Okay, garter ready. Now give me a leg!" Elisha demanded as she kneeled down to help Anastasia.

"Okay, this is your something old, right?" Sophia asked as she took out an old antique looking necklace. Again, Anastasia's eyes lit up.

"My grandmother's necklace!" She gasped.

"As I was told," Sophia began, "You had your eyes on it since you were a little girl, so… I asked if you could borrow it for the wedding. Then I was told that it was a family heirloom passed on from mother to the oldest daughter on her wedding day."

"Thank you, Sophia." Anastasia hugged Sophia tightly. It was clear to see that Anastasia and Sophia had become fairly close over the last year. It was nice to see sister-in-laws getting along, unlike some.

"Okay, so you have your something old, your something new, your something borrowed, and your something blue. We're good to go." I announced. "Let's go!"

"Oh my god!" Anastasia stopped short when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her dress was perfectly Stas, with an off-the-shoulder neckline and empire waist. It was long and flowing from there covered in rose lace. He cathedral length veil was held on with a small tiara, making her look every bit a princess.

"You look amazing, Stas." Caitlyn told her.

"This is real. I'm really getting married. To Jason." We all smiled at the way her eyes soft and an uncontrollable smile took over her face as she said his name.

"Hard to grasp, huh?" I asked. "Don't worry. You won't believe it until tomorrow, if then, that you're actually married."

"I have to admit, I'm quite glad I wasn't the first to get married. I don't think I'd be half as calm as I am if I didn't already watch you go through this, Mitch." Anastasia admitted softly.

"It wasn't so bad, I had two amazing best friends to keep me sane. It's the least I can do to return the favor." I smiled.

"And Cait, I will do everything I can to help you with your wedding, you know, when you start planning it." Anastasia turned to her.

"I know. Trust me, you both owe me!" Caitlyn replied. We shared a group hug as much as we could around my stomach. "Another thing _I'm_ glad about not being the first." She joked gesturing toward my stomach.

"I think this is scary no matter how many people you know who went through it. I'm honestly terrified to give birth, much less become a parent." I admitted.

"Don't worry. We'll be with you every step of the way!" Anastasia promised.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to get going before Jason starts to worry." Sophia laughed.

"Oh yeah! My wedding!" Anastasia laughed as we all gathered out things to leave.

The church was as gorgeous as the bride was. It was covered in red and white roses and decorations. Everyone was dressed amazingly, then again, Anastasia was from a rich family. I had to roll my eyes at the pretentious looking Viktor sitting in the back row.

The wedding was going smoothly and beautifully until it was time for the 'I Do's'. The priest turned to Jason and asked, "Do you, Jason Adam Bishop take Anastasia Mila Dragomir to be your wife?"

Jason smiled brightly. "I do."

I whispered to Caitlyn, "Jason's middle name is Adam, too?" She shrugged in response.

"And do you, Anastasia Mila Dragomir take Jason Adam Bishop to be your husband?" The priest asked.

"I do." Anastasia's smile took up almost her entire face.

"By the power invested in me by our lord God, I now pronounce you-" Viktor, of course, interrupted.

"I object!" He yelled from the back of the church.

"Shut up, Viktor!" Quite a few of us yelled. I watched Sophia's face darken and it seemed as if she was going to follow through on that threat.

"No. I am legal betrothed to that woman and I refuse to let her marry someone else!" Viktor shouted. "Remember, Anastasia, you lose everything if you marry him. Are you really willing to give up everything? The money, the company?"

"What's he talking about, Stas?" Jason asked worriedly. Shane and Nate both looked back and forth between Anastasia, who froze once Viktor began speaking, and Viktor. "Stas, what is he talking about?" Jason demanded, shaking her slightly to wake her out of her daze.

Anastasia was still froze though and just began stuttering trying to figure out how to explain everything to him.

I stepped forward to explain it to him. "Jason, it's not what it seems like. Stas' grandparents wanted to make sure their fortunes would go to someone worthy and therefore, for Stas to inherit her inheritance, she had to either marry Viktor- who she's began betrothed to since she was a baby, or someone of equal standing and approved by her grandparents."

Caitlyn stepped forward as well to continue, "She can marry you legally, she just loses her inheritance. But you know Stas, money means nothing to her. She loves you and is more than willing to sacrifice it for you."

"The only thing she was slightly conflicted about was her mother's father's company. John has pretty much already forfeited his claim and that leaves Stas as the only heir. If she forfeits it, it goes to someone else. But she's marrying you, so it doesn't matter. She's willing to give it all up. Viktor doesn't matter and neither does anything else." I finished.

"Grandfather wants to know what you mean by she forfeits it?" Anastasia's cousin Petar asked. He was translating to his grandparents what was being said. "He wants to know where you got that idea."

Anastasia finally broke out of her daze. "Wait, what?" She began speaking to her grandfather in Serbian. Suddenly she shrieked happily and ran down to hug her grandfather.

"What? Petar what's going on?" Jason asked.

"He approves of you." Petar said simply.

Jason continued to look confused while Caitlyn and I began squealing happily. "I don't get it? I thought they already approved of me since they were letting me marry her?"

"He means, he _approves _of you. Meaning that Anastasia gets to keep her inheritance and therefore the company." I explained.

"Oh. That's awesome!" Jason said happily. "Can we get back to our wedding now?" He asked whining slightly like an impatient child.

Anastasia rejoined him at the altar while Caitlyn and I stepped back into our places. "I now pronounce you, Husband and Wife. You may kiss the bride." Jason didn't waste anytime kissing Anastasia senseless.

As we preceded back out of the church, Shane kissed my cheek, telling me how much he loved me. Nate was acting in a similar fashion with Caitlyn as well.

I smiled at how happy my family was again. Everyone was finally working through their problems and making the best of their lives. I rubbed my stomach thinking of how much happier I'd be soon. For a time anyway.

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I hope you all enjoyed it and it met your standards. And it was longer! 4500+ words!

Okay, preview in 5...

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"_Nate, call Shane."_

"_Why? What's wrong?"_

"_Either I just peed myself or I think my water just broke."_


	11. Chapter 10

Another long one! Yay! Lol. So, I'm not going to bore you because I know you all cannot WAIT for the new chapter. So without further ado, the chapter you've all been waiting for. I think you're going to really like this chapter.

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Chapter 10:

The reception was so much fun and Jason and Anastasia looked so happy to finally be married. They were going on a cruise while we were all going back to Camp Rock. Honestly, the thought of Jason on a boat scared me a bit, but I knew Anastasia would keep him away from the rails.

I was excited to be home in Boston, even if it was just for a day. Tomorrow we were going back to Camp Rock. That should be enough to keep me preoccupied until the baby was born, I figured. Everyone was excited to get back to 'work' and enjoy living for the music again. Even I was looking forward to being surrounded by the music again. Somehow Brown had tricked me into singing in his class for him. The rest of the summer was going to be a fun one, it seemed.

Today, though, I just wanted to relax on my couch.

"Baby, do you need anything?" Shane asked, knowing I wasn't feeling well. The doctor said it was probably from the flight, which I thought was weird, since I was just fine when we landed in Serbia.

"I'd really like some crackers." I answered from my lounging position on the couch.

"Okay." He kissed my forehead when he stood up.

Nate and Caitlyn came out of the guest room while he was in the kitchen. "So, are you just going to stay on the couch all day, Mitch?" Caitlyn asked looking down at me.

"Yes, I am." I replied with a serious look on my face. "I'm pregnant and have a doting husband, so I can totally get away with it."

"That she can." Shane laughed as he came back in. "We don't have any crackers. We didn't buy anymore because we were going to Camp Rock…" He started to gather his keys and wallet. "I'll have to run to the store."

"I'll go. I could use a good walk, and I won't get mobbed!" Caitlyn laughed.

"Do you want me to come?" Nate asked, having already plopped himself at the other end of the couch, my feet now resting on his leg.

"No, you and Mitchie look pretty comfy. Anyone need anything else?" She laughed as she grabbed her purse.

"Ginger ale? Oh! And maybe something chocolatey?" I asked.

"Okay. You boys want anything?" She asked again. They both shook their heads no. "Okay, I'm off then." She kissed Nate goodbye and left. I smiled at the way Nate's face was dream like as he watched her leave. It seemed like things were getting better for them at last.

Shane, Nate, and I were watching a movie not too long after when Shane's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" he answered. "Woah, woah, Nicky. Calm down." Nate and I exchanged worried glances. "Where are you? … Wait, where? I can't understand you. … What do you mean you don't know? He left you? … I'm going to kill that little bas- … Ask someone where you are, okay? … I'll be there as soon as I can. … I love you, too, Nix."

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

Shane clenched his fist, trying his best to calm down a bit. "She and Chuck got into a fight over Riley, and he left her at some restaurant about 20 minutes from here, but it's not somewhere she's familiar with and she had no money for a cab." He sighed, grabbing his keys and wallet again. "I'll be back soon." He kissed me once before he left. "Nate, don't leave her alone, please?"

"I don't need a babysitter." I argued angrily.

"I know," Shane called back from the door. "But you don't feel well. That's the only reason I'm asking. Love you!" He closed the door before I could argue anymore.

"It's not babysitting, Mitch. It's keeping you company so you don't get lonely." Nate teased, patting my leg. I merely grumbled in reply.

I really didn't like them treating me like a child because I was pregnant. I was carrying a baby, I wasn't one. I knew Shane was only worried, but honestly he was starting to irritate the hell out of me. I didn't know how much more of it I could really take.

It wasn't too long later that I felt my stomach churn again. It was really starting to get painful every time that happened. "You okay?" Nate asked, seeing me wince.

"My stomach just feels queasy, like I have to puke or I have gas or something. I just wish Cait would hurry up." I whined slightly, rubbing my stomach. He rubbed my leg sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. Being pregnant kinda sucks, huh?" He asked.

"Only sometimes." I smiled for a moment, but then my face went blank.

"Mitch, you okay?" Nate asked, seeing my face change.

"Nate, call Shane." I said monotone, though I was freaking out on the inside.

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked, suddenly turned to face me completely, insanely worried.

"Either I just peed myself, or my water just broke." I replied still toneless.

"Oh my god. No, that… no. Um, keep your legs together." Nate said, forcing my knees together.

"A little late for that. Oh my god, Nate, I really think I need to get to the hospital." I started panicking.

"Why me?" Nate started muttering as he quickly started dialing Shane. "Why couldn't this happen to Jason? Wait, no that'd be even worse. You can do this, Nate. You can handle Mitchie having the baby while you're supposed to be keeping an eye on her. Who are you kidding? No you can't."

If I wasn't panicking myself, I would have laughed at Nate. However, my water had just broke 6 weeks before I was due. All sorts of reasons started to cloud my mind and I was getting pretty upset.

"She's pretty sure her water broke. …How soon are you going to be back? … Shit. I'll call an ambulance. Meet us at the hospital. Okay?" Nate paused. "Here." He handed me the phone, as Shane told him, I guessed.

"Baby?" Shane asked as I took the phone.

"Shane, I'm scared. Where are you?" I sniffled into the phone.

"I'm about 20 minutes away. I'll be there as soon as I can. Everything is going to be okay. Nate's going to call an ambulance and I'll meet you at the hospital, okay? I love you." Shane spoke soothingly.

"I love you, too." I said softly.

"I'll see you soon. Give Nate the phone back?" I nodded, though he couldn't see and handed Nate the phone.

"Yeah? … I will, Shane. I promise. Everything's going to be fine." Nate looked at me with a look of absolute seriousness. "Only if she asks. No, Shane- fine. I promise." Nate sighed as he hung up the phone.

"What did he make you promise?" I demanded.

Nate snorted. "Hopefully, you won't have to find out. I'll tell you late. Not right now. Okay?" Before I could argue, he walked into the kitchen to call an ambulance.

In our haste to get out of the apartment, we forgot about Caitlyn. She arrived to an empty apartment 5 minutes after the paramedics picked me up. We, of course remembered her about half an hour before I went into labor.

"Nate, where's Shane? He said 20 minutes. That was 2 hours ago!" I started panicking. "Oh my god! What if something happened to him? Oh my god, Nate, I can't do this alone. I can't raise a baby or give _birth_ to a baby on my own. Nate, I'm scared."

"I'm sure everything's fine, Mitch. Probably traffic or something. Don't worry. He'll be here in time. The baby's not being born until it's daddy's right here with you. Everything's going to be okay. You are _not_ going to do this alone. But to make you feel better, I'll go call him." Nate said, trying to calm me down, which he did- for a moment. "Shit, where's my phone?"

"You forgot your phone?" I glared at him. "How could you forget your phone?" I yelled at him.

"I'm so sorry, Mitchie! I put it down after I called the ambulance. I probably left it on the counter. I'll go find a payphone. I'm so sorry." Nate apologized before rushing out of the room.

I started mumbling to myself about how Caitlyn wouldn't have forgot her phone unlike her scatter brained fiancé and suddenly remembered we forgot her.

"Oh my god! Caitlyn! Nate!" I yelled. I giggled to myself as I heard an '[expletive I won't repeat], she's going to kill me!' as he walked down the hall.

While Nate was gone, I became fully dilated. I was scared because he wasn't back yet and I didn't know where Shane was. Obviously, I couldn't really control how much longer that baby was staying it. The nurses paged Nate, who came rushing back looking quite out of breath.

"I'm here! I'm here! What's wrong?" He asked worriedly grabbing my hand.

"I'm dilated… or just about. I'm going in soon. Nate, I can't go in there alone. Where's Shane?" I cried.

Nate tried to calm me down as best as he could. "There was a really bad accident on the highway. They have 4 lanes crawling into one. Nicky said they should be here soon, that they just passed the accident and it opened back up. And… if Shane's not here, I'll go with you. That's what he made me promise. That I wouldn't let you do this alone. Honestly, I don't want to because it's Shane's place, but if you want me there, I'll go. You're one of my best friends, Mitchie. I'm not going to let you do this by yourself when you're already so scared." I sniffled as Nate brought tears to my eyes.

"Oh, Nate. That means so much to me. You know, 20 minutes ago I was cursing you in my head, but I'm really glad you're here with me. I know I said I didn't need a babysitter, but… I'm glad you were with me. And it's nice to see you not… so business like. I think I might have hit you, honestly." I admitted laughing through my tears.

"Sir," a nurse stuck her head in the room. "If you're going into the delivery room, you'll need to wear this." She handed him a gown, cap, and gloves.

"On the bright side of this, you'll have plenty of experience when Caitlyn has your first kid. Where is she by the way?" I asked as he started getting ready.

"On her way. She was at the apartment freaking out. She couldn't get through to Shane because he was calling me. And my phone's on silent so she didn't hear him calling me." Nate explained.

"Miss, it's time." The nurse came back and a look of sheer terror fell across my face.

"Nate, I don't think I'm ready for this!" I gasped as tears filled my eyes.

"You'll be fine. I'll be right there with you. Don't worry." Nate assured me rubbing my hand while holding it. "I promise everything is going to be okay. The baby will be fine."

I nodded, my throat too thick with tears to speak. I wanted Shane. I wanted my mommy. I wanted to not be having my baby early. I was scared out of my mind.

A technician was push my bed out of the room as I heard the greatest sound of my life at that moment. Shane. I could hear him yelling at a nurse to tell him where his wife was.

"Wait! I hear my husband. Nate, go see if that's Shane." I turned to the tech and the nurse. "Please, a minute won't make that much of a difference!"

Nate came running back a moment later with Shane, Nicky and Caitlyn.

"Mitchie!" Shane sighed in relief as he saw me. "Baby, I'm so sorry I wasn't here early."

"It's fine. Just… put the gown and stuff on. I can't hold out much longer. This kid wants to be born, _now_."

Nate and Shane quickly traded while Nicky and Caitlyn each hugged me. "We'll see you when you're done, okay, Mitch? We're gonna go call everyone now, since obviously you and Nate were too busy to do so." She teased.

"Call my parents! And Shane's parents! And Kevin! Oh! And Jason and Stas! They might not have left yet! Oh, and-" I was listing people when Shane cut me off.

"Baby, they got it. We need to get you into the delivery room." He laughed softly at me, while brushing his fingers through my hair. He leaned down to kiss me softly and whispered, "I love you." Before the tech started moving again.

Labor was a pain. Ha. That was a horrible pun. But it was painful, undoubtly so. The epidural only did so much considering my inside were being ripped out.

"Come on, one more push and the baby's out." The doctor urged.

"I can't. Shane, it hurts." I cried.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay. One more push and it's over. And then we'll have our baby." Shane urged, pushing my sweaty hair out of my face as I crushed his hand.

"Sing to me. Calm me down. Please." I begged him as the doctor urged me to push again.

"I need to try to get to where you are. Could it be, you're not that far? You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need, the song insi-" Shane's voice calmed me down enough that I was able to push while he was singing to me. He stopped when he heard the most wonderful sound either of us had ever heard in our lives.

Our baby crying.

"Mr. Grey, are you going to cut your son's umbilical cord?" The doctor asked. Shane was grinning like a fool as he moved to the end of my bed to cut the cord. The nurse handed him to Shane a moment later.

"Hey, Justin." Shane cooed as he came back to me with baby in his arms. "Here's Mama." He handed me Justin.

"Hello there, little boy." I was staring at my son with Shane leaning over us as well, just marveling when I felt another contractions. "Oh!" I gasped.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked alarmed. "What's wrong with her?"

"The afterbirth. It's nothing to worry about. Though… it usually doesn't hurt. It could be because he's early. There might have been something wrong with the placenta." The nurse said as she started massaging my lower stomach to help the placenta deliver. She gasped a moment later though. "Doctor! Nurse, get that baby checked immediately to make sure there's nothing wrong. I think we have a twin or there's something wrong with the placenta."

"What?" I gasped. "What's wrong? What's wrong with my baby?"

"I think he's a brother." The nurse replied. I looked up at Shane wide eyed.

"It could just be the placenta. Don't panic yet." Shane tried to reassure me.

The doctor came in a moment later and felt my stomach. "Hmmm. The first baby must have been blocking the other. There's a significant chance of strangulation."

"Of _what_?" I shrieked, now worried that I had another baby that was just killed by its brother.

"Mrs. Grey, I'm going to need you to push again. But I have to warn you that there is a chance this baby will be still born." The doctor replied.

I was crying hysterically as Shane tried to soothe me. It only took two pushes and then relief flooded me as I heard another tiny cry. It was fainter, and it sounded slightly strangled, but it was a cry.

"Well, she's a fighter." The doctor chuckled. "She kept the umbilical cord from choking her. Her hands were blocking it from constricting too tightly. It was a close call, though. Any tighter and the cord would have been tight enough to cut off her air."

The doctor cut her cord this time so they could get it from around her neck, but handed Shane the baby anyway. "Cecelia." I smiled. "Our little angel."

"She is an angel. She's got God on her side." Shane smiled as he handed her to me.

"Where's Justin?" I asked, looking up from her.

"He's being examined. We need to take Cecelia, too." The nurse came over to take her. I didn't want to part.

"Doctor?" Shane asked as the nurse took her. "How is that we didn't know we were having twins? Shouldn't Cecelia showed on the ultrasound? Or at least a second heartbeat?" I was wondering the same, myself.

"We believe that Cecelia was behind Justin instead of on the side of him. If the heart beats were in synch, a machine wouldn't pick up the difference. I'd like to look at your ultrasounds to see if there was a shadow. But first, we have to get the afterbirth. Don't worry, Mitchie. This won't hurt. I promise."

I didn't believe him but he was right. It came out easily on its own. After that I passed out from exhaustion and was taken to the maternity wing.

_

* * *

_

_Shane's POV_

_I smiled down at my wife as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. After they moved her, I went out to the waiting room to tell the others what happened._

"_Is it a boy or a girl?" Mom asked as soon as she saw me. "How is she? How is the baby? Can we see the baby or her?"_

"_Well… we don't know if there's anything wrong, seeing as they were born prematurely, but… I think they'll be fine, they both cried. Hers was fainted since she was almost strangled."_

"_Wait… they? Hers? I'm confused?" Caitlyn said tilting her head oddly. She could be so weird sometimes, but that's Caitlyn._

_I was grinning like a fool. "Well, somehow, we had twins." Mom hugged me as soon as the words left my mouth. Dad followed not too long after. _

"_How did that happen?" Dad asked as he pulled back._

"_The one baby blocked the other because they were on top of each other instead of side by side. Cecelia was almost strangled by the umbilical cord, but she's fine. Her hand kept it off of her neck enough that she could still breath enough." I explained. "Justin should be just fine."_

"_So, we have both a Justin Cole _and _a Cecelia Aine?" Kevin asked._

"_Yup. Good choice on the name, Kev. She's got someone up there looking out for her already." I smiled at my brother._

"_Oh! I'm so excited!" Caitlyn gushed, finally launching herself at me in a massive hug. "You're a daddy, Shane!" She laughed._

"_I know. I'm still reeling. I'm just glad I got here in time." I turned to Nate and hugged him. "Thank you. For keeping your promise. She would have gone insane in there by herself. I owe you so much."_

"_Well, if I ever need the favor returned…" Nate laughed._

"_What favor?" Caitlyn asked._

_I smiled as I stepped back. "When Nate called to tell me Mitchie's water broke, I made him promise me that she wouldn't go in alone. Someone would go with her. Even if he had to."_

"_And I was going to. I told her it felt wrong because it was your place, but I would never make her go through that alone." _

_I hugged Nate again as he told me that. Before I pulled back, I added, "Thank you."_

"_I'm always here for you, Shane. And that means I'm always here for Mitchie… and now the… babies." Nate smiled. "Wow. Not one. Two! There's two new additions to our family. Wow."_

"_Oh, we have grand_babies!_" Mom gushed._

_A nurse came over to us and interrupted the moment. "Mr. Grey, the twins are in the nursery, now."_

"_Let's go see my niece and nephew!" Nix demanded, smiling brightly._

_I raised an eyebrow at her. "Look who's excited to be an aunt now, Nix." I teased, though on the inside I was quite happy to hear her say those words._

"_Oh, shut it, Shay." She rolled her eyes, heading to the nursery, my parents hot on her heels. _

_Nate and Caitlyn walked up on either side of me and wrapped their arms around me. "Come on, you. Let's go see these babies of yours." Caitlyn said following them._

"_Did you guys get in touch with Jason and Stas?" I asked while we walked to see my kids. It was still new and weird to hear myself think 'my kids'. I couldn't believe they were here already. I hadn't really prepared myself, but it was okay. I had Mitchie to deal with this as well. And as long as they're okay, that's all that matters. They. Two. Wow._

"_Yeah. They were getting the coast guard to pick them up off the cruise ship and bringing them back to Boston." Caitlyn explained. I rolled my eyes. Of course._

"_Mitchie's going to freak. She's going to feel bad." I sighed._

"_It's okay. Stas feels bad and thinks that the wedding caused her to go into labor early." Nate laughed. "You girls freak for no reason."_

"_Oh shut it. You would too if you-"_

"_Guys. Look." I interrupted them by pointing to the two tiny bundles being held up to the window to my parents and siblings._

"_Justin Cole Grey and Cecelia Aine Grey." Caitlyn repeated._

_I watched Nate wrap his arms around Caitlyn from behind and lean his chin on her shoulder. "I can't wait until we have our own. When you're ready. But… man, when I was with Mitchie about to go in, I couldn't think of anything else but how I couldn't wait until I was doing it with you."_

"_Me either." Caitlyn admitted, shocking all of us, actually._

_Mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder, shaking me slightly. "They're gorgeous.. Just like their parents. I'm so proud of you, Shane."_

"_You don't think we're too young to be parents?" I asked curiously. I knew for a fact that, though they were thrilled to become grandparents, Connie and Steve wished Mitchie was a little older. They were barely okay with her getting married at 18._

"_No, I do. I think you were too young to get married. Or, Mitchie was. But you can't deny love. I think you would have gone insane if you didn't marry her soon. Every circumstance is different. You and Mitchie were both ready to get married. And you're going to be damn fine parents, I think."_

"_I had good role models." I said softly, both of us knowing that compliment was mostly directed towards her._

"_Shane… I know when you were younger-" I cut Mom off before she could keep going._

"_No, Mom, it's okay. That's helped more than you know. It wasn't the best thing to go through as a kid, but it's helped me make my marriage stronger." I told her, honestly believing that by not fighting with Mitchie I was helping my marriage. "Speaking of my wife, I'm gonna go see if she's awake or not." I kissed my mother's cheek before heading off to see my wife._

_She was just stirring when I got there. I would have figured she'd have been out for hours after delivering twins. But not my Mitchie. She was awake not even an hour later. I could tell she was still tired though._

"_Hey, baby." I said softly, coming to sit next to her._

"_Are they okay?" She asked sleepily._

"_They're perfect. Mom and Dad can't stop looking at them. And… Nicky was… _excited_ to see the babies. Wow, babies. I still can't believe you had twins." I laughed softly, brushing her hair back. "You were amazing. I love you."_

"_I love you, too. I couldn't have done that without you." She whispered, making my heart swell. I'd felt pretty useless with the whole pregnancy thing. That was why I was constantly doting on her, make sure she was comfortable and what not. I felt bad, since it was my fault she was pregnant and I couldn't make it easy and comfortable for her. To hear her say she couldn't have done it without me made me feel important. Made me feel like, wow, she does need me._

_Of course, I couldn't let her know what it meant to me. I'm supposed to always be calm and collected. "Nate would have sang to you if you told him to." I joked, though it was probably true._

"_True. But Nate's voice, as beautiful as it is, isn't yours. And I don't Nate would have been able to hand the second baby. Not the way you did." She smiled as brightly as she could on her tired face. _

_Honestly? I was scared out of my mind when I heard the doctor say something about strangulation. I'd been excited at the idea of another baby until I almost lost them. But now my little angel is perfectly fine. She's a little fighter, just like her mommy._

_They were so perfect. Justin had my darker hair, but it will probably end up straight like Mitchie's. I'm guessing since Angel's was a softer brown with a tiny wave to it. I mean, Cecelia's hair was. Angel. My little angel. I like it. I have my baby boy and my baby girl._

_I leaned forward and kissed Mitchie. "I'm only as strong as you need me to be. If you weren't so scared I think I would have been just as much as a wreck. But I didn't want you to be scared. If I was scared, you'd be twice as scared." I admitted._

"_You don't always need to be so strong, Shane." She whispered._

"_I know. But I can't help it. I have to protect you. Physically or emotionally. Always." I reminded her._

_She chuckled softly. "I know."_

_I thought for a moment and decided to tell her I'd made my choice about the argument we had earlier. It was after I first held Justin that I knew the answer without thinking. "I made a choice."_

"_About?" She asked, her eyelids fluttering._

"_Whatever _you_ want to do, about our future. I'll go anywhere you want or anywhere you're willing to come with me. No more world tours, or European tours. Only summer tours so you can with me. And… about Camp Rock, well, if you decide that's what you want, then I'm all for it. But if you don't want to, then I'll tell Brown no. I want to be with my wife and my children. The place doesn't matter to me. I don't want to raise them in seclusion, but at the same time raising them surrounded by music… they're our kids, they're bound to love music as much as we do. I don't know what would be best for them. Living on a tour bus or living in the woods. Or living in the limelight."_

"_Shane?" She said smiling with her eyes closed._

"_Hmmm?" I answered._

"_Let's talk about this when I'm not so tired." She laughed softly._

"_Okay. I just wanted to tell you. I figured it out when I held Justin. I just… needed you to know." I smiled and as she nodded sleepily. "Go back to sleep." I kissed her forehead again and watched as she cuddled into the pillow, falling asleep again._

_I couldn't wait to take my babies and my wife home and finally have the family I always wanted as a kid. I'd never be like my father and let them see Mitchie and myself fight. I'd never make them feel like any of our problems were their fault. If I gave up my music career to be with them and their mother, they'd always know that I _choose_ to be with them. They didn't make me give it up. I just hoped Mitchie wouldn't become resentful of me or them. Of all the things that should worry me or make me nervous, that was the most prominent of all because I had no control over it. Only Mitchie did.

* * *

_I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and liked seeing things from Shane's POV. I'd had that planned from the moment she asked Kevin about the twins. It was just fun to keep you all guessing what I was going to have them have. And yes, that can happen with twins. Quite often the second baby doesn't survive because the other baby accidentally kills it. =( But, little Cecelia, or as Shane calls her, his little Angel, will be just fine. Promise. =)


	12. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I was enjoying the last week of my break. I go back on Tuesday, so… My muse is also attacking me like crazy with other ideas. Between TOTH, another story that's not posted called Butterfly, and another idea I have in my head, it's been kinda hard to sit and force myself to write AINE. But I'm excited for the upcoming chapters, so it shouldn't be too bad! Anywho. Sadly, this is one of my 'needed filler-esque type chapters'. Nothing overly exciting goes on, but there is some much needed ground work laid.

* * *

Chapter 11:

I woke up to Shane sitting with the babies in their little bassinettes the hospital provided. He hadn't noticed I woke up yet, so I caught him talking to them.  
"… I promise. I'll give you everything I can. Within reason of course. I'm sure there's things your mother will say no about. And she'll probably yell at me all the time for spoiling you. She still hasn't grasped the concept of us spending the money I've earned. But don't worry. Daddy's going to keep making money. What do you two think? Camp Rock with crazy Uncle Brown or a tour bus with crazy Aunt Caitlyn? I'm kidding she's not going to be on our bus. I can't wait until her and Uncle Nate have kids. That will be fun to watch. And hopefully you'll be old enough to watch, too. I don't think we can handle anymore babies in our big old family at the moment. Let's hope Uncle Jason has been smart on his very short lived honeymoon."  
"And Daddy is rambling insensately to his barely a day old children." I finally spoke up, seeing as he wasn't making much sense anymore. The babies were probably asleep anyway. "And Caitlyn is not crazy!"  
"Hey, did I wake you up?" He asked, easing the babies over to me and then his chair. "And yes, she is. At times. Oh, you know I love Cait. Don't start."  
"I think you're the crazy one at the moment. Half of what you said made no sense!" I laughed softly, looking up at him. I was still laying on my side.  
"Only for you, baby." He replied cheekily.  
"Have you gotten in touch with the newly weds yet?" I asked, stiflingly a slight yawn. I noticed Cecelia yawning, too.  
"Not yet. You want me to go try again? Leave you alone with your children for a bit?" He asked, knowing that I wanted some time alone with them.  
"Our children." I corrected. He smiled and nodded his head in agreement as he traced a finger down Justin's cheek. "And only if you wouldn't mind?" I asked, sitting up in the process.  
"Not at all." He kissed his finger tips and placed them on Justin's forehead before repeating the process with Cecelia. I got a real kiss on my forehead before he left the room to call Jason and Anastasia.  
I smiled at my babies and pulled them closer to me. I was still in awe over them. I felt like I had known all along that I was going to have twins. Something in me just wasn't surprised when I held Cecelia. Maybe it was because I kept referring to the baby as 'they' since I didn't want to know the sex, that actually have a 'them' instead of just a 'him' wasn't an odd occurrence. But it didn't really matter. I had my little boy and my little girl. And if the doctor's were right, I'd never have to worry about them not getting along. Justin was always going to watch over his little sister, always protect her. And I knew Justin, my friend, was watching out for them.  
"Justin…" I whispered to myself as realization dawned on me. "Justin saved you." I reached out and gently brushed Cecelia's hand with my finger tips. "Your brother new you needed help, and Justin kept you from getting hurt until your brother got you help."  
I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought of my best friend from so long ago helping my daughter. I had every belief that Justin was in fact in Heaven watching over myself and our friends, and now my babies. I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking out for Shane, now, too. But it was a miracle that Cecelia had managed to keep the cord from choking her. Even the doctor had said so. Justin kept her hanging on until my baby boy was out of his sister's way.  
"I hope you grow up to be like him." I whispered to Justin. "And like your Daddy, and your Uncles. Not all of their personality traits, but the good ones. Justin's selflessness, but that you know when not to be so you don't get hurt. Daddy's generosity and his protectiveness, but that you understand there's a limit and there can be too much of a good thing. Uncle Nate's dedication. Well, maybe not to the same extreme, but you have to admit he's dedicated. Uncle Jason's free spirit and his heart. And Uncle Kevin's understanding to go along with Uncle Jason's spirit so you don't become jaded. Uncle Kevin is very wise beyond his years."  
"And you, my little angel," I turned to Cecelia. "I want you to have your Aunt Caitlyn's forgiveness, and Aunt Stas' patience to go with it. But that you know when to walk way and not get walked all over. And maybe not her attitude, but Aunt Nicky's passion. She may be wrong most of the time, but she sticks to her ideas and holds onto them with such conviction. And I hope you take from me strength. I hope I show you to be strong and to persevere through anything."  
"And I hope both of you have the love of music Daddy and I do, or you're going to hate us growing up. To think, before I met your father, all I wanted to do was sing. But if I had to choose between being a mother or an international superstar, I'd rather be right here with you." I knew I could never do to my children what TJ Tyler had done to Tess.  
It was when I finished speaking to them that I noticed they had woke up and were both looking up at me with their wide, curious, identical little brown eyes, telling me they understood everything I was saying. Telling me they wanted it, too. I know, I sound insane, but I swear they knew what I wanted for them.  
I didn't get to bask in my moment for too long though as Kevin and Naomi came in baring balloons and teddy bears. I laughed quite hard when I saw that they were official Connect 3 merchandise, each bear wearing a Connect 3 t-shirt. The bears were small though, and the babies were about the same size as them.  
After quick hello's and how are you feelings, Kevin and Naomi sat down, each of them holding one of the babies. They stayed and visited with me for a little while. Naomi looked so content with a baby and had offered about 15 times to baby-sit. In the last 10 minutes, that is. Kevin on the other hand was completely in awe of his niece.  
"I can't believe I'm an uncle and still in high school." Kevin shook his head.  
Naomi looked at him oddly. "Why? It's not like you're a father, nor is it Nicky's kid. Shane's been out of high school for… 4 years now? Well, technically, speaking."  
"Yeah, but still. It's surreal." Kevin argued.  
I smiled at them and threw in my two cents. "Like being a parent at 19 isn't?"  
"Fair enough." Kevin laughed. "You lucked out having twins. Now you don't have to choose between Nate and Jason or Caitlyn and Stas for Godparents."  
"Who said I would have picked them? I could have picked you and Nicky." I argued.  
Kevin shook his head. "Nah. We're already their uncle and their aunt. We don't need to be their Godparents to spoil them." He tickled my newborn daughter and she gurgled at him. "She has your smile." He commented.  
"And Justin has his Daddy's, doesn't he?" Naomi tickled Justin as well, who also gurgled happily.  
"Anyway, it's not like Jason and Nate aren't religious." Kevin went back to the original subject.  
"Hmmm. So Jason and Stas would be Justin's godparents and Cait and Nate would be Cecelia's?" I asked.  
"Well, you don't have to keep them in the designated couples, you know." Kevin chuckled.  
"Mix it up, confuse Nate and Jason." Naomi commented.  
I smiled at her. "When did you become evil?" I asked.  
"Too much time with you and the girls." She smiled back. "Oh, we have to get going. I have play practice." Naomi handed me back Justin.  
Shane came in a moment later, just as Kevin was going to hand me Cecelia, too. "Here, I'll take her." He took the baby from Kevin. "You guys leaving?"  
"Yeah. Naomi's got play practice." Kevin answered.  
"Alright. Bye Naomi," Shane hugged her, surprising me a little. Then he turned to Kevin and hugged him good-bye, too.  
"Can I have a fan girl moment?" Naomi asked, and we all just looked at her. Squealing quietly, she did a tiny happy dance. "Shane Grey just hugged me!" She stopped almost instantly. "Okay, I'm good."  
"Why did we let him date a fan?" Shane asked jokingly. "I'm totally kidding, Naomi! We like having you around. I promise."  
She smiled as she and Kevin left.  
"So, what's the deal with the newlyweds?" I asked, hoping he'd convinced them to stay on their honeymoon.  
"They'll be here in five minutes." he shrugged, dancing around with Cecelia in his arms.  
"Shane, be careful with her, please?" He gave me a pointed look but stopped spinning in circles. "And what do you mean, five minutes? You were supposed to convince them otherwise!"  
"You argue with Stas! I lost that battle before it even began. She said they were postponing their honeymoon because their newborn niece and nephew and best friends were more important."  
Does it surprise anyone that Jason and Anastasia postponed their honeymoon to come home and see me and the babies? Yeah, I didn't think so. I felt really guilty until Anastasia came running into my room apologizing at 10 miles a second.  
"Mitchie, I'm so, so sorry. I never should have made you fly to Serbia so close to your due date!" Anastasia said after about a thousand sorry's. I was too tired to argue with her, so I turned to Shane with a helpless look.  
"Stas, it wasn't your fault." Shane reassured her. "The babies were the ones who caused their own births. The doctor's think that Justin forced himself out of the way because he knew Cecelia was in trouble."  
"Aww. That is too cute! Oh the babies! Where are they! I want to see my niece and nephew!" Anastasia was next to Shane in a moment. "Aww, aren't you precious, Cecelia? Can I hold her?" I laughed as Anastasia simply took her out of his arms not waiting for a reply.  
"Jase, you alright man?" Shane asked, seeing Jason looking not one hundred percent happy.  
"I'm fine. I'm just… tired." I could tell he was lying, but he wasn't about to say the truth. I had a feeling Jason wasn't too thrilled about cutting his honeymoon short, seeing as it was most likely Anastasia's idea. "Here, let me hold Justin?" He offered, trying to seem happier.  
"You're god son? Of course." I said casually, handing Justin to him.  
"Thanks. Wait, my what?" Jason asked, looking up from the baby to me.  
"You're god son. I want you and Caitlyn to be Justin's god parents. And Stas, you and Nate to be Cecelia's." I explained. Shane just nodded in agreement, though I hadn't discussed it with him.  
"What about Kevin?" Anastasia asked.  
"He told me I was lucky I had twins so I didn't have to choose between Jason and Nate or you and Caitlyn. He says he doesn't want to be one of their godfathers, because he's their uncle, he doesn't need an excuse to spoil them." I explained.  
"Absolutely then." Anastasia smiled down at Cecelia. "Hello, little girl. I'm your god mother. Even though I'm a completely different religion than you." Anastasia was cooing at Cecelia, which made me laugh.  
"Uh, what does a god father do exactly?" Jason asked.  
Shane chuckled. "You'll help baptize them."  
"Oh." Jason replied, though I don't think he still grasped the whole concept.  
"Anyway, why'd you split the couples?" Anastasia asked.  
"This way it's not one set of best friends with one baby and the other with the other. It just evened it out better?" I offered, pulling the reasoning out of nowhere. I liked Naomi's idea of confusing Jason and Nate.  
"Oh. Makes sense. Okay, as cute as she is, I want to hold Justin." Anastasia handed Jason Cecelia while taking Justin. She was so fluid doing it while Jason almost dropped Cecelia when Anastasia handed her to him. "Oh, Jay, I can't wait."  
"W-what?" Jason stuttered, almost dropping Cecelia again, who squirmed looking up at him.  
"Not now!" She exclaimed. "I mean, in general." Anastasia assured him.  
"Oh." Jason sighed in relief. I smiled knowingly at Shane while trying to suppress my giggles.  
"Stas, seriously, go back on your honeymoon, please? I think I would have killed anyone who interrupted ours. I feel so bad. Please, for my sanity go back? Not that I don't want you here, but…" I sighed, hoping Anastasia was getting my point and not getting offended.  
"I know you want to help, but between my mother and Momma T, I don't think we're going to need it. I think I'm going to get in the way," Shane admitted.  
"He's got a point, Stas," Jason agreed quickly. "We'll be in the way and making Mitchie feel guilty."  
I kept a smile to myself and tried my best to look almost pouting. "Exactly. You saw the babies. They'll still be here in 3 weeks when you get back," I assured her.  
"If you sure. But I'm not ready to leave just yet." Anastasia smiled down at Justin.  
With a knowing look, I glanced up at Shane, who came over to me and held my hand. We talked quietly about nothing while Jason and Anastasia cooed over the babies together.  
"I want a Jason Junior," Anastasia decided.  
Jason smiled and kissed her cheek. "Whatever you want to name kids, our distant future kids, feel free."  
"So I could give our kids really weird Serbian and Russian names and you wouldn't care?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.  
He shrugged, "As long as I can pronounce them or they have a nickname."  
"Aww, Jay," Anastasia kissed his cheek back.  
"Think Stas just jinxed them?" Shane asked.  
"What do you mean?" I asked looking up at him.  
Shane smirked. "They're so going to end up telling us they're having a baby within a year, or their first is going to be a girl." I looked at him as if he were crazy. "What? I started talking about our 'future' kids and how I wanted to have like 20 of them, and look where we ended up."  
"If you say so," I smiled at him and went back to watching my friends interact with my children.  
After two hours, Jason finally managed to convince Anastasia to leave. Not that I didn't love her, but I wanted them to get back to their honeymoon. Nate and Caitlyn stopped by with some of my stuff, but that was about it for the rest of the day. My parents were coming up once I was home, since Mom was staying with us the first week to give us some hands on parental training.  
I smiled happily though as I watched Shane holding Justin as I fed Cecelia. I was a little worried at first that Shane would be drawn to Cecelia more than Justin, but it wasn't like that at all. Shane equally loved his children, and I knew without a doubt in my heart, he'd always be there for them. Always.

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Hope you enjoyed it even if it wasn't too exciting. =]


	13. Chapter 12

Hey guys! Sorry, I just started school up again and it's been a busy week as usual! So, to make things clear, the babies are about 3 - 31/2 weeks already. I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, and no, obviously, it's not the end. We've got 6 more various births before the end of AINE, I promise. Oh, and sorry about the smooshedness of last chapter. I had to copy it out of an email and into my word processor on my desktop, which deleted the double spacedness in the process. Sorry!

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Chapter 12:

The sound of soft crying woke me up at 1 in the morning. Shane moved before I did. "Come on, baby, you know she's gonna wake Justin up, too," he nudged me as he got out of bed.

"I hate you," I mumbled as I rolled out of bed. "You know, when there's only one kid, you get to take turns."

"If I could handle both of them, you know I would," Shane assured me, rubbing my lower back as we walked into the babies' room.

Caitlyn and Nate had bought the same crib as the other one and set it up for us. Dad had also brought us a second rocking chair, so both babies could get rocked back to sleep at the same time.

"Hey, there, Angel," I cooed, picking up Cecelia and patting her diaper. Justin was awake too, but hadn't started crying yet.

They were like clockwork. Justin woke up around 11, 3, and 6 throughout the night, waking up Cecelia with him. Cecelia woke up around 1 and 5, also waking Justin in the process.

While I changed Cecelia, Shane went and warmed a bottle for her. Justin wouldn't eat yet, so he only needed one. Mrs. Grey had suggested that we put them both on the bottle right away instead of possibly causing fights between the babies when one had to wait for the other to finish if I breast fed them.

After giving me the bottle, Shane took Justin out of the crib and sat in one of the rocking chairs. His hair was curly and going everywhere, it hadn't been straightened since we came home 2 weeks ago. There was no time nor energy for us to look well groomed. I smiled as Shane started humming the melody of Gotta Find You.

I sat next to him in the other rocking chair now that Cecelia had been changed and calmed down, and was happily sucking on her bottle. "Sing to them…" Shane suggested softly.

I smiled down at my babies and then over at Shane. "They go right to sleep when I do. It makes me feel like I have a horribly boring voice," I sighed.

"They like the sound of your voice. It sooths them. They sleep when I sing to them, too." Shane explained. "I sang when Justin woke up. Your turn," he grinned, knocking his shoulder lightly into mine.

I rolled my eyes but started singing anyway. "Why don't you sing with me?"

"What are we singing?" He asked, still smiling. I think there was something wrong with us, considering this was the second time we'd been woken up already, and yet we were both smiling like idiots. I think we were idiots.

"An older song, but not one of mine. And not Gotta Find You. Hmmm… When You Look Me In The Eyes?"

Cecelia gurgled in my arms. "I think she likes Uncle Nate's song." Shane laughed.

"She doesn't even know what it is!" I argued lightly.

Shane shrugged. "Babies are all knowing until they start speaking. Didn't you ever watch Baby Geniuses?" He asked playfully.

"Right," I replied, dragging out the words.

Shane ignored me and started singing, "Oooh, ooh, yeah…. If your heart is always searching, can you ever find a home?"

"I've been looking for that someone. I never make it on my own," I sang softly, smiling at Shane from the corner of my eye.

"Dreams can't take the place of loving you,"

"There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true, when you look me in the eyes and tell me that you love me, everything's alright, when you're right here by my side."

"When you look me in the eyes, I catch a glimpse of heaven, I find, my paradise. When you look me in the eyes… How long will I be waiting to be with you again?"

"I'm gonna tell you that I love you in the best way that I can… Cecelia's asleep," I whispered.

"Justin is, too," Shane whispered back. "They fall asleep so easily when we sing to them," he commented, laying Justin back in his crib.

"I guess music's in their blood," I smiled laying Cecelia down as well.

Shane wrapped his arms around me from behind as I stood between the cribs, watching both my babies sleeping.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing my exposed shoulder.

"I love you, too." I whispered back, laying my hand on his arm.

"I still can't believe we made them. They're so perfect," he spoke quietly in my ear.

"They were made out of love, of course they're perfect," I replied.

"Let's get back to sleep before Justin wakes us up in an hour and a half," he said leading me back our bed.

We laid on our sides facing each other and he kissed my forehead. We were both too tired to speak anymore and just fell back to sleep.

Justin woke us up, followed by his sister two hours later. We didn't bother to go back to sleep after Cecelia's five o'clock wake up call, knowing Justin was just going to wake up again in less than an hour.

"You want coffee?" I asked Shane as we closed the babies door.

"Please. I'm gonna go hop in the shower really fast. Brown's coming down today, so I want to not have my hair everywhere." He said already walking into the bathroom, leaving the door open.

"Shane… it's your uncle. He saw you naked as a baby. I doubt he cares how your hair looks."

"And you see me naked now and don't care what my hair looks like. Was there a point to that statement?" he asked, sticking his head out of the door.

"Yeah, that you are entirely too vain pop star," I teased.

He frowned slightly. "I just want my hair to look neater than it has. I was planning on taking a picture with Brown and the twins. He was more of a father to me as a kid than my father…"

"Shane, I was only teasing you. I'm sorry. Go take your shower." I kissed him lightly. "And that's really sweet… the picture, I mean."

He smiled and kissed my forehead again and stuck his head back in the bathroom.

After I made his coffee, I headed back down into our bedroom. As I was passing the bathroom, Shane was opening the curtain to grab his towel. I silently groaned to myself and wondered how much longer I had to wait to have sex again. I was still kind of sore, beside the fact that we too tired and busy to have sex, but that didn't mean I didn't want to jump my husband the second Justin was born.

Shane came into the bedroom with his towel wrapped firmly around his waist. He kissed my cheek as he walked past me. I let my eyes roam over him and felt kind of jealous. He may have been just as exhausted as I was, but he at least still looked good. I was still fat and now had stretch marks.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking up from his socks, noticing I had been staring at him.

"I'm still fat and you still look like a god." I pouted.

He chuckled. "You're not fat. It's called baby weight."

"Weren't you supposed to put on weight with me?" I continued to pout.

"I would have if I didn't work out twice as much to keep it off," he explained.

"How kind of you," I glared.

"Baby," he stood up and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "You had twins. You were pretty big by the end. Just give it some time. Eat healthier… once the babies are a few weeks older, start taking them for a walk everyday… you'll lose the weight in no time." He promised.

"That'll be weeks still," I sighed softly, playing with random things on my dresser.

"So what?" Shane asked shrugging it off.

"You don't get it…" I sighed, slightly angry at him being dense and moved away from him.

"No, I don't. Explain it to me." He prompted pulling my back to his chest again.

I continued to look down, he nudged me slightly, causing my words to start stuttering out. "It'll be months until I'm attractive again…"

"What do you mean again?" He asked. "When weren't you attractive?"

"Um, now? And when I had giant pregnant stomach." I exclaimed.

Shane frowned as our eyes met in the mirror on my dresser. "Have I made you feel like that? Like you're just fat and ugly now?"

"Not directly… you don't look at me anymore. I used to have to yell at you in the morning to stop looking at me and get ready. You haven't really looked at me since we stopped having sex."

Shane held me a little tighter. "Baby, I didn't look at you cause I really wanted to jump you every time I did. I told you, you were the most beautiful thing in the world to me when you were pregnant with our child. Then you started complaining about how fat you were getting, and I didn't want you to feel like I was scrutinizing you or anything. And now it's both. I know we can't have sex yet and I know you aren't comfortable with how you look. I didn't mean to hurt you, I was trying to prevent that."

I turned in his arms. "Your best laid plans always backfire, Shane."

He shrugged. "Not really. I'm married to the woman of my dreams who I am head over heels in love with, and I have my family, with not only one but two babies."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss him. It started getting pretty heated when that tiny cry came through the baby monitor.

"When the doctor says we can have sex, you're parents are babysitting. For two days." I informed Shane, resting my head briefly on his shoulder. It was only for a moment before I moved toward the babies' room.

"Agreed," he sighed following me into their room.

"Hey, little man? You hungry?" I asked picking Justin up. Shane picked up Cecelia. I had to keep myself from awing out loud seeing Cecelia cuddling up against Shane's bare chest.

"Come on," Shane said heading into the living room.

With one arm, he laid out a blanket on the end of the couch and laid Cecelia down. I sat down next to the blanket and laid Justin down as well. Shane went into the kitchen to warm the babies' bottles again and finally drink his coffee.

The twins laid side by side, not really aware of each other yet. Well, not physically aware of each other. I'd read that just because Cecelia or Justin woke up, didn't mean the other one would. If they were tired, they'd sleep. Yet, the other always woke up with my babies. Not that they cried, too, but they woke up and stayed silent in their crib. It was almost as if they knew the other was uncomfortable and wouldn't go back to sleep until their sibling was happy again.

It amazed me, seeing how now when they were both awake laying side by side, they were oblivious to each other. They always were.

"Here," Shane handed me one bottle and kept the other.

We sat side by side on the couch each feeding a baby. Justin finished first, as usual, and Shane proceeded to burp him. Justin let out a tiny little burp after a few minutes, though I sat burping Cecelia for awhile and nothing came. It wasn't surprising, she almost never burped. But I didn't want to chance not burping her when she needed it.

"Go shower," Shane insisted, taking her from me and continuing to rub her back. Justin was already back on the blanket.

"'kay."I leaned over to give him a peck on the lips. "When's Brown getting here?"

"About 10, I think." Shane shrugged, trying to remember.

"Okay. Do you mind if I take a bath then?" I asked, not sure if he could handle being alone with the babies that long.

He shook his head no. "No, in fact I insist. You need to relax, baby."

"I'll leave the door open. Yell if you need me, okay?" I told him, heading into the bathroom. He didn't really answer me and just paid attention to the babies.

After my bath and I'd gotten dressed, I found Shane sitting on the floor in front of the section of the couch the babies were on, his head leaning back against the cushion. I felt bad taking the extra time to get ready. His eyes were closed and he had a notebook in his lap.

I didn't wake him, knowing he was just as tired as I was. I did feel a lot more relaxed after my bath, and I knew he could use the nap. He'd give me hell for it later, claiming he shouldn't have been taking a nap when I couldn't.

I sat next to the babies reading for a while. I was in the middle of an intense scene when the intercom went off. I stood up and answered the desk. "Mrs. Grey, there's a gentleman here to see you, he says he's Mr. Grey's uncle." The guard at the front desk explained.

"Yes, that's Uncle Brown. Let him up." I answered.

Paparrazzi had been trying to get into the building for the last two weeks, trying to get the first pictures of the Grey Twins. The night I was coming home, Nate had asked them to not ambush us, since I was tired and that we were being extra cautious with the babies, even though the doctors said they were just fine. One photographer refused to give up the chance to have the first pictures of the babies, and was then restrained by two other photographers, and pushed back behind the imaginary barrier Nate had asked for. The first pictures of post-birth myself and Shane were distant with us carrying the babies in carriers.

I had Shane get them coffee and bagels delivered in the morning to those who camped out all night. Shane also went and talked to some of them, telling them about the babies and that everyone was fine and healthy, just tired.

I smiled widely as I practically skipped over to Shane, who was still asleep. "Baby," I whispered in his ear. "Wake up, Uncle Brown's on his way up."

"Hmmm?" Shane looked up at me confused as he blinked the sleep away. "When did I fall asleep?"

"When I was getting dressed, I guess." I shrugged, not entirely sure. "Don't worry, the babies were fine. They were sleeping right along with Daddy."

"I still shouldn't have fallen asleep." He argued.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "You were tired. It's fine. They're only 3 weeks old. They don't do much other than sleep at the moment. When they start moving, we'll have to worry."

Shane didn't get a chance to argue because Uncle Brown knocked on the door. Shane lazily stood up and stretched before sitting next to the babies as I opened the door. "Uncle Brown!" I hugged him tightly.

"Mitchie, love, how are you?" He asked hugging me back just as tightly. "Shane!" he exclaimed softly and walked over to my husband, who stood to hug his uncle.

"Uncle Brown. Nice to see you. Sorry, again, about bailing on Camp Rock. There was no way we could have gone back and taken care of the twins. One baby, maybe, but not two."

"Relax, Shane. It's okay. I understand." Brown assured him. "Caitlyn did an amazing job of taking over your classes as well as her own. And Nate was really good about traveling back and forth between Camp and here when you need him. It's all under control."

Shane smiled thankfully at his uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Brown."

"Now, let me see the little musicians in the making." Brown grinned, looking over at me.

"They don't _have_ to be musicians," I laughed as I picked up a sleeping Justin and handed him to Brown. "This is Justin." I introduced.

"With you two as their parents, I wouldn't be surprised if they started singing before speaking," he kidded as he smiled down at the baby.

Cecelia seemed to be aware that someone was around because she was awake when I picked her up. Brown handed Justin to Shane and took Cecelia from me. "This is the fighter, I presume?" Brown asked.

"Our little angel…" Shane smiled proudly as he rocked Justin gently.

"The Angel and the Rockstar… now there's a band name," Brown grinned again. That man's head was always in music.

"Let's wait until they're old enough to know what an instrument is before we start naming their band, Uncle Brown," Shane smiled. "Though that is a cool name." Brown laughed and turned his attention back to the baby in his arms.

He stayed for a long time, just catching up on the first few weeks of our new parenthood. Camp Rock was over, but he couldn't really stay since the camp still had to be closed down until next summer. He asked us about taking over Camp Rock again, but Shane told him we were still thinking about it.

I had been thinking about it. I had realized I was being a little selfish. Okay, really selfish. I wanted to stay in school so I could become a music teacher, which is exactly what I'd be doing at Camp Rock. Teaching music to kids who were as passionate about it as I was. I realized I could still go to school, and run Camp Rock with Shane and be happy. It was better than raising my children on a tour bus, I decided.

After Brown had left, Shane seemed distant and I couldn't figure out why. When I finally asked him, he alluded to just thinking about Camp Rock. I smiled softly and picked up Cecelia.

"What do you think, Angel?" I asked her. "Should we take over Camp Rock?"

"What?" Shane asked, looking up from Justin.

"What about you, Rock star? What do you think?" I came over to Justin and Shane, speaking to the baby.

"Mitchie, if you don't want to-"

I shook my head, cutting him off. "I've been really selfish with this, Shane. And stupid. This is something you really want. And I want to teach music, right? Where better to do that than at Camp Rock?"

"So, you've given up on singing?" he asked sadly.

I sighed. "Shane, I gave up on singing the moment I found out I was pregnant. I can't raise two kids on a tour bus. That's not fair."

"Then why are you letting me? Why did you give me that option?" He demanded.

"Because that's your decision to make, not mine!" I answered, my voice raising slightly. Shane walked away from me, irritation rolling off of him. "Shane."

"Let me think, Mitchie. I just, I need to think." He grabbed his phone and his wallet off the counter and headed for the door.

"Think about what?" I demanded.

"Why you always have to make things so complicated!" He replied, halfway out the door.

I sat next to the babies as I felt the tears starting to prick my eyes. I couldn't believe he was getting so upset over me telling him that I _wanted_ to take over Camp Rock. And I had to wonder, did I really make things so much more complicated than they needed to be?

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Soooooooooo, how was it? =]


	14. Chapter 13

I'm sorry this is so short and only one scene, but I have an excuse which is at the bottom. Also, I'm going to post pictures on my blog for the story as to why I'm not doing much typing any time soon.

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Chapter 13:

Shane wasn't gone for very long. When he came back I was sitting next to the babies with my head in my hands, crying softly. I'd heard the doorknob jiggle, and looked up to see Shane walking through the door, with his shoulders slumped. A small gasp slipped through his lips when he noticed my tears.

"Oh, baby, I didn't mean to make you cry." He cooed softly, immediately rushing to wrap his arms around me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to flip out like that."

"_Do_ I make things more difficult than they need to be?" I sniffled, burying myself in his arms.

He sighed. "Sometimes. You make things so… black and white sometimes. Like, we can't have everything we want in our lives. That we have to give up so much for so little. And then you constantly change you mind but you make things so set in stone when you say them."

"Yeah, well sometimes you're head is too up in the clouds, Shane. I'm trying to keep us on the ground. And nothing is ever set in stone… life doesn't work that way." I defended, still in his arms as he rubbed my back soothingly.

"I'm not blaming you or yelling at you, Mitchie." Shane sighed in slight irritation.

I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. "Seems like it. You blew up at me when I told you I wanted to take over Camp Rock!"

"I did _not_." Shane stressed. "I got upset over you're double standards. You forget that we're in a marriage _together_. You are constantly making all of these sacrifices and _never_ let me. I don't ask you to do half the things you do!"

I shifted away from him and looked down at my babies. "I'm a mother and a wife. I'm supposed to make sacrifices for my family. Shane, you need to keep you're career as it is… I don't have to sing. I don't know if I ever _wanted_ to be famous singer. If it was what I truly wanted I wouldn't have let anything stop me when I had a contract staring me in the face. But I did. I didn't want it enough to work through all of my fears and apprehensions and the negative feedback-"

"What negative feedback? Mitchie, everyone _loved_ our duet-" I cut him off as he did me.

"Exactly, Shane. Our. I was afraid that people wouldn't take me seriously, that they'd just think I was riding off of your fame. I was afraid I'd loose you because of other people. Even when I was 16 you meant more to me than anything else."

I still wasn't looking at him, so he lifted my chin to look him in the eyes. I felt so guilty by what I saw there. The guilt in his eyes was enough to make me physically sick, but mixed in with sadness and hurt lingering there as well pushed me over the edge. I rushed away from him and into the bathroom.

I heard him call after me, but I collapsed against the door and broke down in tears. It seemed like no matter what I did, I hurt him. No matter how many sacrifices I made to keep him happy. I heard him banging on the door behind me, but I couldn't answer him. I was shaking with sobs too much to do so.

"Mitchie? Mitchie, open the door. Baby, please. What's wrong? Mitchie, you know how much I hate fighting with you. Tell me what's wrong, please." He begged as another wave of guilt and more violent sobs shook me.

Even having an inner conflict breakdown, I hurt him. At that moment I made the decision to make Shane happy no matter what it took. I'd find a way to sing, somehow. I wouldn't fight with him. I wouldn't complain about having to get up in the middle of the night with the twins. If he wanted to go on tour during the school year, I'd take online courses. I'd do whatever it took to make him happy. To make my marriage work.

As my tears stopped and my breathing calmed down I heard the babies crying and Shane trying to sooth them. Another wave of guilt hit me as I realized while I was having a breakdown in the bathroom, Shane was caught between trying to calm me down & figure out what was wrong and the babies. I was caught up in my own self pity that I forgot that we had two babies to look after. It just made my resolve to make everything perfect that much stronger.

I cautiously left the bathroom and tip-toed into the living room. Shane was sitting on the floor with the babies on their blanket. We'd have to get them a play pen or portable crib thing soon, but we were content to watch them every second of the day right now.

"I'm sorry-" My voice cracked as I approached Shane. He turned to look at me and I felt my heartbreak even more at the look on his face. "Don't- don't feel bad, Shane. You've never asked me to do any of the things I've done. They're my decisions to make. I won't ask you to do the same. It's entirely up to you. But half of the choices I make would be in vain if you made the same ones. I'll do whatever it takes to make this work. It's not just us, anymore. It's Justin, and Cecelia, and Jacob… everything we do affects them, too. I like living the way we do. Comfortably. You need to do what you do to do that. Any decisions that affect your career affect Jason and Nate's too. Which affects Stas and Cait. There's such a bigger picture here than just you and me. If I have to give up certain things to make this work for everyone, I will. We all make sacrifices. Some are just bigger than others."

"Come here." He beckoned me to him. I sat down next to him and let him hold me to his chest. "I'm sorry for flipping out before. You know how I am, always trying to pretend I'm superman. I just snapped. It's a lot of pressure… the twins, you, our future. I just… I just needed to let loose a little. I didn't mean to make you so upset. I'm so sorry for making you cry. I hate seeing you like that." He mumbled into my hair.

"I know, Shane." I mumbled back into his chest. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He whispered back.

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I wrote this scene on Tuesday or something and I was really angst so I wrote another future scene too instead of writing the rest of the chapter. Then I got sick… so I went to Health Services on Thursday. I had a cold. There was also MOLD growing in my roommates fridge which she never cleaned for like 3 weeks again… =/ and she was there all winter term, too. Anyway, she moved out and I'm there alone. It smelled so bad I had to call my RA to remove the fridge. My lungs hurt and I keep having panic attacks on top of my asthma attacks when I couldn't catch my breathe. Sunday I was getting worse, so I decided I'd go to HS on Monday again. Well… some ass pulled the fire alarm Sunday night… and guess who lives on the third floor and had an asthma/panic attack on the way down? And guess who had to take an Ambulance to the ER? Me. Then, they refuse to listen to me tell them not to put me on one of the breathing treatments because it will not help the panic attack factor. Instead, they gave me FIVE back to back treatments. So, now my oxygen level is dangerously low, my heart is racing, and they can't get my oxygen to come up…. So they're going to admit me to ICU. So, one minute on Sunday night at 2:30 in the morning I'm sitting in the ER with my suitemate waiting to get admitted… the next minute I'm waking up Wednesday morning with a tube down my throat and no idea how I got there. I was knocked out for 2 days and had no idea what had happened. I've been poked by many needles at this point and my wrists are severely bruised. I'll have another chapter up as soon as possible, but it might actually be like 2 months or something. =/


	15. Chapter 14

19 days in the hospital. I was getting tested for Tuberculosis and was put in isolation for a week. Not fun. However, I also had to drop my classes for the semseter, so now I'm home. I thought I'd give you a chapter. I also wrote a new story while I was in the hospital. It's a Nick-fic. I'll be posting that where my Joe-fic is soon enough. But I wanted to get a few chapters of this and TOTH out before I start posting that one. Okay, so Jacob is back in this one, and I knew exactly where he was the entire time. And I've finally managed to write myself out of the rut I wrote myself into. So, yay!

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Chapter 14:

3 months is a long time to go about pretending everything is perfect. I don't know if Shane noticed the steadily increasing tension, but I did. For the first few weeks, everything was great. Then I found myself getting annoyed, but unable to say anything. Shane would forget to wash the babies' bottles, or not take the dirty diaper bag out of their room -he claimed it was too heavy for me to lift-. He was constantly on me about singing again. I barely saw or talked to Caitlyn or Anastasia anymore. I felt like a robot, living only to be a wife and mother. Now, I'm just miserable, walking around with the biggest fake smile on my face.

Even Jacob or the twins weren't able to cheer me up. We were finally able to bring Jacob home when the twins were about 5 weeks old. He was too hyper to be around week old babies, so he was staying with my parents and then the Grey's. It was nice to have him home, but even he could tell something was off. He wouldn't eat as much as he used to, and he barely left the babies' sides, almost as if he was protecting them from myself or Shane. Or maybe he saw the impending fight coming and was protecting them from that. I don't know. All I know was that dog always slept on their floor between their cribs, was by the porta-crib out in the living, or under our feet when we fed them. He was always by them.

The twins were healthy and perfect. Cecelia was finally starting to put on some actual weight and look like a normal sized baby instead of being so tiny. Justin was just a well behaved, happy baby. I loved my children more than anything else in the world.

I came home with the twins after taking a walk in the park nearby to find yet another note on the counter about yet another opportunity for me to sing, and I snapped.

"Shane!" I yelled. He came in from the bedroom, looking like he'd just woke up. Obviously, he'd been taking a nap. He came over to me and took Justin out of the stroller, going to place him in the porta-crib. "Shane." I said, getting his attention.

"What?" he asked, as he moved Cecelia next.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I will sing when I have time. If I don't have time to go to school, I don't have time to sing yet, either. We agreed that I'd work on singing when I went back to school." I sighed angrily. This was the first 'fight' we'd had in months. And if I knew him like I did, he'd dismiss it to avoid the fight.

"You're right, I'm sorry." I could see him clenching his jaw, careful not to lose his patience. But I wanted to fight, I wanted to push his buttons. 3 months with no fights was too long, personally.

"No, Shane, you say that every time. Stop being sorry and just stop!"

"Again, you're right." he replied.

"Shane!" I almost screamed. Actually, I think I did.

"Yes?" he asked, still trying to keep the pretense of peace. I wanted to smack him.

"I'm sick of pretending everything's perfect, Shane." I finally snapped, the tension becoming too much to bare. "There's so much tension between us. I can't stand hurting you, but trying to just ignore everything is killing me. I can't do this anymore. I can't handle this. I can't be a mother and a wife and a student and a singer and everything else I'm supposed to be. I didn't realize how much more I was sacrificing by pretending everything was okay!"

"Then leave, Mitch. If this is too hard for you, leave. Stop hurting yourself for me." Shane said softly, his eyes on the babies and not me.

"Shane-" I sighed. He was taking things the wrong way.

"No, I'm serious." Suddenly, his eyes were on me and his voice hard. "For years I wondered why my mother never left, why she put up with my father's shit. It killed me to watch her sacrifice herself for me and the twins. I won't make you do that. If you're not happy, I won't make you stay. Maybe… maybe you need a break, readjust your priorities. Maybe I've put too much pressure on you. I'm sorry. I think it would be best for you to leave for a while. Come back when you're sure this is what you want. Or don't come back at all. Whatever you decide."

"The twins-" I started but he cut me off.

"Won't notice you're not here at first. You'll still be able to see them. It's not like I'm going to keep them from you. But you need to worry about yourself, Mitchie. I can handle the twins." His voice was still hard. Later I would learn that he was keeping his emotions held back, that he was trying his hardest not to break down and apologize for everything and convince me to stay. He was convinced he was killing me and thought it'd be best for me to leave before things were too bad to fix.

"Is this what you want, Shane? You want me to leave? Rather than talk this out you'd rather me just leave? I can't abandoned my children." I stated firmly, fully intent on not leaving my home.

"N- Yes. I want you to leave. I want you to leave and decide if this is truly where you want to be without anyone forcing you to be here. I'm not going to sit here and wait until you resent me or our children in a few years when you finally go over the edge from all of this. I won't let you make them feel like I did as kid, Mitchie. I want you to be here because you want to be, not because you have to be." He couldn't look at me because he knew I'd see right through his lies. That this wasn't what he wanted. But he made a point. Would I resent them if things didn't get better?

"This is what I want, Shane!" I yelled at him. "Everything I do is for you and them. For us. This is where I want to be!"

"I want you to be here because it's where you want to be. Everything you do I want to be for you. If being my wife is what makes _you_ happy, then stay. But if being my wife is what makes _me_ happy and not you, I can't let you stay." He shook his head, trying to sort everything out. "Mitchie, please. For me- leave for a little while. Honestly think about it. This is all I've ever wanted. A family to call my own and a chance to prove I was better than my father. I don't have to think about it. But this isn't what you always wanted. The thought of a family scared you once upon a time. I need you to be absolutely certain this is what you want. And the only way to do that is for you to leave and decide this is where you'd rather be."

"This is what you really want? For me to leave? Fine. I'm gone, Shane." I kissed each of my babies and turned to walk out of the door. I paused just outside of the door. "I won't abandon my children permanently. But I honestly don't know if I'll be back for you. I love you, but I don't know how much more I can take us killing each other like this. Goodbye, Shane." I walked away with all of the strength in my body. Maybe he was right, maybe this was for the best.

I moved in with Caitlyn for a week after that didn't see my babies for a majority of it. That hurt. I didn't want to admit it, but I missed Shane terribly, too. I couldn't believe he threw me out, though, so the anger took precedence. But Caitlyn had classes, and without my babies, I didn't have much of a life, sadly enough. So, bored, I went through Caitlyn's closet, looking for her photo albums. She had these giant photo albums that her parents started when she was young, and she just fills them up as she goes. Nothing is specific to one event, and there was everything from the last few years. In truth, it was where Shane had gotten the idea for my photo albums.

I pulled out the one closest to me, assuming it was the most recent. I had opened it upside down, so I decided to look through the album backwards to amuse myself more. I saw pictures of Caitlyn and Nate with the babies, as well Shane and I with the babies. And there were a lot of pictures of just the babies. In front of all of the babies pictures were a photo copy of their birth certificates and their foot prints. As I progressed backwards through my own pregnancy and random pictures from that time, I was confused by the pictures that seemed to be a wedding. Nate and Caitlyn's wedding. I convinced myself that they were just fooling around. It wasn't really their wedding. Then I came to the most important piece of evidence. A marriage certificate.

Confused, hurt, and disbelieving, I stood up, photo album clutched in my hands and ran out the door. Shane wasn't home when I got to my apartment, which I was slightly thankful for. I quickly pulled out my wedding album and took out my marriage certificate, comparing it to Caitlyn and Nate's, hoping there's was a fake. A joke. Not real. My best friend, _my sister_, would not have gotten married without me being there. The witnesses were Nate's cousins. They got married in Pennsylvania. That was why Caitlyn was so distant. Was this payback for almost eloping with Shane and not waiting for her to come home first? I was on the verge of tears when Shane and the twins came in.

"Mitchie?" his voice sounded hoarse and scratchy, almost like he'd spent the last week crying his eyes out. I know, because that's how and why mine sounded like that, too.

"Did you know about this?" I asked, holding up the certificate.

He looked bewildered as he came over to me. "Know about what?" he took the certificate and read over it. "Well, that's surprising, but explains a lot. No wonder Nate's been so happy, he finally got laid," he shrugged handing it back to me. "Where'd you find that?"

"Caitlyn's photo album. How are you so calm about this? Our best friends got _married_ without telling us!" I snapped at him.

He rolled his eyes and moved to put Cecelia in the porta-crib. I followed him, and took Justin. I noticed he needed changed and grabbed the diaper bag.

"It's their life, Mitchie," Shane commented. "They're both adults and can do as they please. Maybe they were at their breaking point and really need to find a different way of relieving their stress before they killed each other or broke up again and wanted to do it right this time. Sex is great for relieving stress. Did you notice that they don't fight half as much anymore? They figured out how to stop being at each others throats 24-7," he argued. Then he added, mumbling of course, "Unlike us."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, looking up from Justin. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, looking away from me, clearly pissed off.

"We got stressed out again and there was no way for us to relieve that stress because I don't want to fight and you don't want to have sex," he snapped back.

"Is that what your problem is, Shane? That we haven't had sex in a while?" I demanded. I was beyond pissed as I quickly finished changing Justin so I could face Shane.

"A while? Mitchie, we haven't had sex since you were pregnant. We were going to have a weekend to ourselves as soon as the doctor said you could have sex again, and guess what, that never happened. Because _you_ never told me when the doctor gave you the okay. Why is that?" he yelled back.

"Because I didn't want to! I was focusing on being perfect Shane, I didn't have time to worry about my husband's sexual needs. Forgive me, I didn't realize that was part of being perfect!" I screamed at him.

"I never wanted you to be perfect!" he screamed.

The irony of the fact that we were screaming at each other and fighting was not lost on me. But it caused adrenaline to rush through me and I couldn't stop.

"Really? Because it sure seemed like it, Shane! I couldn't… pretend that I was happy. I was happier when I wasn't faking it." I barely took a breath as I jumped subjects. "They need a nap." ADD, I know. I quickly picked up Cecelia and walked into their bedroom. Shane was right behind me with Justin.

"We aren't done talking yet, Mitchie," Shane said, not yelling but the tone was similar.

"You don't want to talk, Shane…" I replied, shrugging. As I walked into our bedroom.

"Mitchie…" he sighed.

"You want sex. Sex will fix all of our problems, right? Let's have sex." I shrugged, the patronizing tone in my voice not lost on either of us as I started unbuttoning the shirt I was wearing.

I watched with satisfaction as his eyes darkened. He had to literally tear his eyes away. "Why are you doing this? Why are you being a bitch right now?" he asked, his voice strained and almost hollow.

I shimmied off my pants and kicked off my shoes, leaving me in a bra and underwear. I walked up to him and pushed his jacket off. "I'm just giving you what you want, baby. You haven't had sex in about a year… no wonder you're grumpy and uptight. Maybe that's what all our problems have been."

"I am not to blame for all our problems. You're at fault, too," he snapped. "I never told you to pretend everything was okay."

"No, only you can do that right?" I said tugging his t-shirt over his head. "Well, I'm so sorry you got me pregnant so we couldn't have sex,"

He snapped. I smirked to myself, knowing I'd hit the right buttons. "Leave them out of this," he snarled.

"Why Shane? Isn't that why you told me to leave? Because I was going to resent them? I'm just proving you right!" I replied. I didn't resent my children. I missed them. But he didn't need to know that right now.

Before I could blink, he pulled me to him, kissing me harshly. It was sloppy, teeth clashing, lip biting, nail digging, and most of all angry. And I loved every second of it.

I woke up a while later, naked and alone. That kiss lead to angry sex. Followed by apologies when we woke up, and then sweet love making. Worried, I threw on Shane's t-shirt and headed out of the bedroom. I stopped when I heard Shane's guitar coming from the living room. It sounded like Gotta Find You, but… he was singing in Spanish. Wait, hold up. Shane knew Spanish?

"Since when do you know Spanish?" I asked, startling him.

He jumped slightly. "I don't," he chuckled. "But your dad helped me translate the song into Spanish. You wanted to the babies to be bilingual, right? Well, I figured the best way to get them used to both languages was to sing to them in both languages. If they recognize the same songs in Spanish and English… they be able to learn both easier," he explained, placing his guitar down. The babies were in the porta-crib in front of him.

I sat down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're amazing," I smiled at him before kissing him lightly. "I love you," I whispered against this lips.

"I love you, too. I'm sorry for making you leave," he apologized again.

"Shane, you had to do it. You needed the reassurance that I wouldn't resent you or them. I don't blame you. I just hope you see that we _need_ to fight _sometimes_. I know you hate fighting because of your parents, but we have to fight sometimes. It doesn't have to be screaming matches, but little things we'll get over in 10 minutes. Sex is great but it can't be our way of working out our tension all the time. Then it loses its intimacy and becomes mechanical." I explained.

He buried his face in my shoulder. "I know that now. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We were both wrong. Let's just move on, and worry about our children and the fact that our best friends are married and neglected to tell us."

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Okay, because I was getting sick of the rut I put myself in, I revised my storyline. I moved up the elopement ousting, and cut out the 'happy' period. No more fighting for the smitchie atm. I promise. But if you noticed my cunning writing skills, I mocked myself, Shane having mentioned it. Lol. However, there was a slight change of plans, but it will all be better. The others should be in it more soon, I think.


	16. Chapter 15

Another update already? Shocking! I'm glad you all liked it. And, I promised myself I would get two chapters of AINE up before I posted the Nick-fic on JBFA, and look... I did. So, the Nick fic is now up. Take A Breath. Link is in my profile. And thank you all for your concern. I'm better than I've been in years. Thanks again.

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Shane convinced me not confront Nate and Caitlyn just yet. He suggested waiting until Caitlyn mentioned wedding plans again. Obviously, he said, they felt guilty about eloping and they wanted a proper wedding. I didn't like this idea, but oh well.

But on top of the elopement drama that I stumbled upon, Anastasia had some… interesting news for us. She called us the following week, rather excitedly, and made plans for dinner, along with Caitlyn and Nate. There was something big she wanted to tell us.

Jason and Anastasia were unable to stop smiling the entire night and kept taking the babies from Shane and myself. I didn't mind, it was nice to be able to not hold them, the restaurant we went to didn't have high chairs for them.

Finally, though, Anastasia cracked. "I'm pregnant," she blurted, bouncing Justin.

I choked on my water. "What?" I asked, while everyone else remained silent.

"Stas is having our first kid, Mitch," Jason explained, smiling widely as he also bounced Cecelia.

"I thought you wanted to finish school first?" I asked.

Anastasia bit her lip. "Well, I did. But then when I held the twins after you had them… I just, I couldn't help wanting a baby. So, we talked about it, and we're weren't going to try but we weren't going to prevent it either. We were just letting it run its course…"

"Ugh. First you elope," I gestured towards a now shocked Nate and Caitlyn, "And you want a family? I'm so confused." I sighed, dropping my head into my hands and leaning my elbows on the table.

"You eloped?!" Anastasia shrieked quietly.

"H-how did you find out?" Caitlyn stuttered. At least she wasn't denying. Nate was staring at his hands.

I sat back and crossed my arms, huffing. "I was bored so I was looking at the photo albums. Color me surprised to find wedding pictures between my growing stomach archive along with a marriage certificate."

"When did you find it? You and Shane were only separated for a week…" Caitlyn trailed off.

"Woah, when were you separated?" Nate asked. "You didn't tell me that Mitchie was _staying_ with you. You said she was visiting a lot!"

"You were separated?" Anastasia asked, feeling left out. "Why didn't I know?"

"We weren't… separated," Shane argued. "We got into a fight and I told Mitchie to leave and figure out what she wanted."

"You kicked your wife out?" Nate asked surprised.

"He didn't kick me out. I was allowed to come back whenever I wanted. He just thought we needed time to ourselves to sort everything out. We worked it all out the day I found out _you_ eloped." I shot back.

"Wait, hold on," Jason interrupted. "Let me get all of this straight. Mitchie and Shane got into a fight… Shane told her to leave to figure things out… Mitchie stayed with Cait and no one else knew about the fight, not even Nate… Mitchie happened to find their marriage certificate… Went and made up with Shane… Then we announced that Stas is expecting and that led to Mitchie ratting on Cait and Nate… Anything else we've been hiding from each other?" he asked looking around the table, still holding Cecelia.

We looked at each other and shrugged. "Nope. Shane and I were having problems. We're good now."

"We eloped so we could have sex? But we wanted to do it the right way, which is why we didn't tell you and started planning a real wedding." Nate added.

"You're not pregnant too are you?" I asked.

Caitlyn furiously shook her head no. "Noooo, no, no, no no no."

"No?" Anastasia and I asked, laughing.

"Jason? Stas? Anything else you're hiding?" Shane asked, throwing his arm behind me on my hair. I hated to admit it, but I loved when he did that.

"Nope," Anastasia answered.

"So, what are you going to do about school?" I asked.

"Well, I'm due in the end of May, so finals are two weeks before I'm due, and I'm going to talk to my teachers in the beginning of spring term and see if they'll let me take them early, and if you know, god forbid, I have the baby early, they'll be cool about it. Then I'll go back in the fall," she explained.

I smiled and nodded, pretending to be happy for her. Honestly, I was jealous. She didn't have to lose any time. Then again, she as a double major. If she lost time, it'd hurt her even more than it would me.

I had to admit though, Anastasia was glowing. I wondered, briefly, if I glowed like that. And Jason's endless smile reminded me of Shane when I first told him I was pregnant. I smiled to myself and leaned over to kiss Shane's cheek.

"Can I have one of my babies back?" I asked playfully.

"Yes, please?" Shane agreed holding out his hands for Jason to pass Cecelia. Shane handed me Cecelia and then took Justin from Jason.

"Hey, there, Angel," I smiled down at my daughter.

"Have you thought of names?" Caitlyn asked excitedly.

Anastasia nodded excitedly. "I was thinking obviously if it's a boy, Jason Junior, JJ. Or a nice, traditional Serbian name, maybe Russian if it's a girl. Right now I'm thinking Danica or Biljana." If your like me, and would have no idea how to pronounce that second one, 'Billy-ona'. Don't worry, Caitlyn and I talked her out of that one for our niece's sake. Pretty name, hard to pronounce.

"I like Danica," I said rather quickly, seeing the face Jason was making.

"Me, too," Caitlyn added.

'Thank you' Jason mouthed to us. "Yeah, Biljana is kinda hard to spell."

"B-I-l-j-a-n-a is not hard to spell, Jason," Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"Stas, that kid will be tortured. No one will be able to say her name correctly," Shane pointed out.

"And Biljana Bishop? Too much," I added.

"Okay, okay," Anastasia laughed. "Jason or Danica."

"If it's a girl, this little guy had better keep his hands to himself," Jason kidded, tickling Justin's foot.

I smiled. "Oh! How cute would it be if our kids ended up together?" I asked Caitlyn and Anastasia.

"Oh!" They agreed, cooing slightly.

"That'd be slightly like incest, wouldn't it?" Nate commented to Shane. "They'll grow up like cousins…"

Shane just shrugged.

"Okay, we're getting ahead of ourselves." Jason huffed.

We all laughed and moved on.

After we put the babies to bed, Shane and I went to our own bed. We weren't overly tired though, and laid there talking, much like we used to. It was something we hadn't done in so long.

"I can't believe Stas is pregnant. By choice." I sighed. I was laying on my side mirroring Shane, who was doing the same.

"Yeah, well, we have some amazing kids, who wouldn't want their own after seeing them?" he smiled softly, bringing his hand up to graze my cheek.

"That we do," I agreed, turning my head slightly to kiss his palm.

"Do you want more?" he asked with a sincere curiosity.

I thought for a moment. "Eventually. Maybe when the twins are a little older. I think subconsciously, I was so frazzled taking care of the two of them that I was afraid if we had sex I'd get pregnant again and be twice as frazzled."

He nodded. "Makes sense. I still want a big family."

"Yes, I remember all of those beautiful Spanish names you were going to name them… and Benjamin." I giggled.

"Uncle Brown. Greatest father I've ever known." he sighed slightly. It was still a little depressing to know what Shane's childhood was like with his father resenting him. But if made Shane love our children that much more, so I guess everything happens for a reason, right?

"Our next boy will be Benjamin Shane, okay? I refuse to have a Shane, Jr." I promised.

"I like it," he nodded. "What if we have a girl?"

"So? Are you going to stop your big family at 3?" I teased.

"Are you going to give me more than 3?" he shot back.

I smiled as I rolled us over so I was straddling him. "I'll give you whatever you want, Shane. 3 kids, 10 kids. As long as I can have them and you can support them, I'll have as many as you want."

He reached up traced my face again. "I'd be happy with 3. I'd be happy with the 2 we have. But I wouldn't mind more."

He rolled us over onto our sides again, though my legs were still wrapped around his waist. "Can we buy a house first?" I asked. "Before we think about having more kids…"

"Whatever you want," he promised kissing me. "You look tired, go to sleep." He said, kissing my forehead. I nuzzled into his chest and he tucked my head under his chin. And for the first time in a long time we slept the whole night in pleasant bliss.

We hadn't done anything as a group in a long time, so while all the boys were in Massachusetts with us, we opted to go shopping. I know, you're thinking, shopping? When did you ever go shopping? We haven't… I don't think. Oh well. Shane and I wanted to pick up some things for the babies -mostly those seat things that the baby rocked in that I didn't trust. Shane finally convinced me to get as long as sat on the floor and wouldn't collapse on the baby. Jason and Anastasia wanted to look at baby things. Caitlyn and Nate were along to spoil the twins, and trust me, they did.

I must say, as much as I hate them, you have to admire the press' skill. Let me explain. We went shopping for baby stuff for the twins, right? Jason and Anastasia were looking at different things, getting excited, walking around with Cecelia. (Anastasia kidnapped one of my babies again. She kept doing that. Not that I minded. I always got my baby back in the end.) Poor Caitlyn had really bad cramps and was walking around with a arm wrapped around her stomach.

The press, well they just so happened to get the story completely wrong and twisted. Despite the fact that we were walking around the baby store with the twins, they took a picture of Caitlyn holding her stomach, Nate with his arm protectively on the small of her back, both looking over at Anastasia asking her opinion on something they found for our newest family member: Baby Bishop. _Not Baby Frances. _

It's more ironic to me than to anyone else simply because of the fact that I overhead a certain conversation. Caitlyn was looking at newborn clothes while she was holding Justin. She had an almost wishful look on her face. Nate came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, tickling Justin at the same time. I guess he saw the look on her face, too.

"Not yet," he whispered. "After we're married," he promised, kissing her neck softly.

She chuckled humorlessly as she bounced Justin a little. "We are married," she replied.

He grinned. "We know that. _Mitchie_ knows that." I resented that. "The other 3 know that. But the world doesn't. Do you want to deal with the press of explaining that we eloped without our friends? If you don't want to hide us being married anymore, I will gladly call Perez Hilton myself," he promised taking Justin from her.

She shook her head. "No. I didn't want _anyone_ to know. I don't regret it, per say, but I wish we'd gone about it differently. I wish Mitchie was there. And Stas, Shane, and Jason. And my parents, and your parents, and Mom and Dad…"

"I never realized how much you missed your parents," Nate commented.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, confused.

"You said your parents and then Mom and Dad…" he explained.

Caitlyn grinned. "Mom and Dad are Connie and Steve." I think I melted a little. It meant a lot to hear her say that. "My parents are always going to be my mother and father. But they've always been so work orientated. Connie and Steve are my Mom and Dad. There's a difference."

Nate got a thoughtful look for a moment. "I just got an idea…" he said.

"What?" she asked confused.

"What are you doing?" Shane asked in my ear making me jump. I missed whatever Nate's idea was. Damn you, Shane. "Where you eavesdropping?"

"Duh. I can't trust them to _tell_ me anything anymore," I huffed.

Shane chuckled and wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. "Mitchie, we're getting older. We all have to do things our own way. On our own." He sighed and I knew I was getting a monologue. He always sighed before his monologues.

"It used to be me, Nate and Jason. It used to be just you, just Cait, and just Stas. Now, though, it's me, you, and the twins. And it's Caitlyn and Nate. And it's Jason and Stas and the baby. You have to remember that. Yes, we're still a part of each others lives, but everything we do isn't entwined anymore. Get it?"

"I know," I pouted. "I guess I'm just not ready for us to grow up and have our own families and be independent of each other. I'm only 19. This isn't how life is supposed to be. Being married and having kids is fine when it's just me. But now… we're all married? We're all having kids? It just doesn't make sense to me."

He smirked. "We're trend setters."

The first time I saw the tabloid claiming Caitlyn to be pregnant, I had to stop myself from laughing so hard I was I afraid I was going to pissed myself. The twins looked up at me strangely. I bought ever magazine in someway connected to us and rushed home, still laughing.

I called Caitlyn and Anastasia on a three way call. "Hello?" Caitlyn answered first.

"Hold on," I said as I connected the other call.

Anastasia answered, "What?" she snapped slightly.

"Ooh, hormones already?" I teased.

"No. Jason," she grunted. Ah. We had another Shane, no doubt. Loveable, worried, protective, but generally bothersome daddy-to-be.

"Anyway," I said, getting back to the subject at hand as I rocked the baby's bouncers. "Caitlyn you didn't tell me you were expecting!" I teased.

"What?" she shrieked.

"Well, according to-" I read the tabloid name, "-you're expecting. Ironically, the one who happens to be legitimately married and is expecting is 'spoiling her godchildren' while the technically unwed one who was spoiling her godchildren is pregnant."

"Oh god," Caitlyn groaned while Anastasia began to giggle. "Oh don't you start, Stas. Just wait and see if I don't call up somebody and tell them you're the one that's pregnant."

"I'm not ashamed of it, Cait. I only waited until I was through my first trimester to tell you because its bad luck to tell anyone before that. It jinxes the baby," Anastasia shot back.

"You sound like Shane," Caitlyn and I both replied and giggled.

"Do you know how many superstitions he believed between our wedding and the twins?" I asked.

"A lot. I remember," Anastasia sighed. "But I also remember him saying he wasn't jinxing anything when it came to your future. Or something like that. I'd rather be superstitious and nothing happen, than not be superstitious and something happen and then I don't know if it was because of the superstition or if it just happened."

"I guess. But DJ is going to be just fine," I sighed.

"DJ?" Anastasia asked.

"Danica or Jason. DJ. I'm too lazy to say Baby Bishop, although it does sound cute. Can we call Caitlyn's unborn child Baby Naitlyn, though? Baby Frances sounds weird."

"Thank you, Mitchie. Except, I'm not pregnant," Caitlyn replied sarcastically.

Anastasia's tone indicated a shrug as she replied, "For future reference, Cait. Who knows. You could get pregnant and not tell us until you're about to give birth."

"Would you guys please drop the elopement thing? I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I didn't want to admit to it. It was a mistake and I regretted, but I choose not to get it annulled because I love him, and decided we were going to get married someday anyway. I'm planning a real wedding, you _are_ going to be my bridesmaids. Now drop it and let's get back to what these stupid tabloids are saying because I _know_ there are more. Mitchie's grown to find them amusing." I heard her take a deep breath when she finished.

"Wow," Anastasia laughed. "Maybe she is pregnant. Hormones, anyone? Oh, random. You didn't change your name did you? Caitlyn Frances… _eh_."

"It's hyphenated," Caitlyn shot back.

"_Anyway_," I laughed. "She's right. There are more. Apparently you two are practicing to be parents since you keep stealing my babies. Oh, and Caitlyn and Nate are getting plenty of practice for their own bundle of joy since apparently Nate was holding Justin, too. Oh, but there is a nice picture of Shane and I with the twins. 'The Grey's are out and about with the twins.' And a close up of the twins, who look just adorable."

"You have no problem with your babies' pictures being all over a tabloid?" Anastasia asked in uncertain tone.

I shrugged as I reached out to tickle each of them for a moment. "It's bound to happen. Besides, they're gorgeous. As long as they're out with me and they're behaved and the captions aren't about me being a horrible mother, I'm good. Did I tell you the babies are up for cutest celebabies of the year?"

"No! When did that happen? And who's that award even from?" Caitlyn asked.

"I think… People? But yeah, it's special edition's of the magazine featuring babies. So, the twins are up for cutest boy and cutest girl, and cutest twins. But it's like, the Top 25 celebrity babies. We have a photo shoot in like, 3 weeks for it. They want pictures of the twins, of the twins and Shane, and of all four of us. Shane wants Jacob in them, too."

"That's so cool," Anastasia gushed. "I hope my baby is as cute as those two. They're so precious."

"Oh, yeah, she's pregnant." Caitlyn laughed. "You sound like Mitchie did!"

"I was not _that_ bad," I argued. "Okay, maybe a little, but come on. You can't help it. Just wait, Caitlyn Geller-Frances. Or is it Frances-Geller?"

"It's still Geller since I legally haven't changed my name yet. But it will be Geller-Frances. Frances for personal use, Geller for business use." Caitlyn answered.

"Uh huh. That's still weird… and kinda confusing." I teased her.

I was happy that we were getting back to the way we were, but Shane was right. Everything was different now. We all had our own families to worry about now. Well, not Caitlyn so much. She only had Nate. Well, as far as I knew.

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So, you know what i love about this story? How much of the plot lines and twists develop _as_ I write. Like... Nate's idea... totally came up with it _as_ I wrote the lines before it. Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.


	17. Chapter 16

I'm in such a bad mood right now I'm not even going to bother with an authors note. Though on the Brightside, I think I've gotten my groove back with this story. Some of you commented that I didn't seem as dedicated and to be putting in as much effort and that's fair, but this story couldn't be my main priority… I had school to worry about. But I actually want to write again and its not a chore, so…

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Chapter 16:

Christmas time. My favorite time of the year. Once you get the through the struggles that are Thanksgiving, the joys of Christmas begin. Shane and I were having loads of fun shopping for the babies. Of course Mrs. Grey or Naomi didn't mind watching them either.

But we also had to shop for each other, meaning one of us stayed home with the twins while the other went out. Granted, we could have just split up while we were out, but there's always the chance of the other seeing you buying something and then that takes the fun out of it.

Two weeks after his last visit when I accidentally ousted his marriage, Nate showed up at my door. His niece Marybeth, who Caitlyn had bonded to so quickly, was with him.

"Nate! To what do I owe this surprise?" I asked hugging him before I really noticed Marybeth. I didn't know much about her other than she was six and Nate's deceased sister's daughter.

"Mitchie," he replied as a way of greeting. "This is my niece, Marybeth," he introduced.

"Hello, Mrs. Mitchie," she smiled shyly.

"Oh, sweetie, you can call me Aunt Mitchie, okay?" I know, Aunt? Well, having her call me Miss or Mrs. Mitchie made me feel old, and having a child call me Mitchie seemed like poor manners.

"Ok, Aunt Mitchie," she smiled brightly this time at me as Nate ran a hand through her brunette curls. She was a spitting image of Nate and no doubt looked just like her mother.

"You wanna meet the babies?" I asked her, leaning forward with my hands on my knees.

"Babies?" her eyes lit up. I nodded and lead her into the living room where they sat in their bouncers.

"This is Justin, and this is Cecelia," I introduced, tickling each baby a little.

"Are they twins?" Marybeth asked. I soon learned she was an inquisitive child. I nodded my answer. "Can I play with them?"

"Just be careful with them," Nate answered. "She'll be fine with them," he assured me as he led me into the kitchen where we could still keep an eye on the kids but speak privately. "Where's Shane?"

"Shopping," I answered. "So what's with the surprise visit with the mysterious niece?" I inquired.

"She doesn't really like living with my parents, and she misses Caitlyn. She stays at my house a lot on the weekends. I think she's more comfortable with us. My house is filled with pictures of Caitlyn and the six of us. My parents house is filled with pictures of people who she looks like but doesn't know," Nate explained. "That and my sister didn't give Marybeth the greatest opinion of Dad. Marybeth grew up thinking Dad abandoned them, when he didn't. He just got remarried. But my sister never saw it that way," he sighed.

"She's very polite, though," I noted.

"She's smart for her age, too," Nate smiled looking out at her.

"Your sister was doing a good job of raising her," I smiled.

He didn't say anything for a moment, but then he smiled and bit his lip. "How do you think Cait and I would do raising her?" he asked.

"Are you serious? You want to adopt her?" I asked softly, not wanting her to overhear. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

He nodded. "Caity and I talked about it. Marybeth's more comfortable with us, and she adores Caitlyn. Cait's been bit by the Mommy bug, too. But we can't have a baby right now. Besides, I feel like I owe it to my sister."

"Wow, Nate," I smiled. "That's great."

"So, do you think we'd be good at it? I mean, would I be good at it? Do you think I can raise a six year old?" he asked. "Cait'll be at school most of the time."

"Absolutely," I assured him. "And I'm sure my parents, or your parents, or Shane's parents would gladly offer advice."

"Good. What do you think Shane's gonna say?" he chuckled.

"Well, there goes Nate's sex life. Man, he's gonna be grumpy again," I replied imitating my husband.

Nate laughed.

The next day the girls and I had planned on going shopping for our husbands so we took Marybeth with us. We left the twins home with the boys. This scared me. Jason would no doubt want to practice and probably insist on doing a lot. Thankfully, my babies came out unscathed.

We had just gotten ice cream -Anastasia had a craving- and Marybeth was looking at her oddly. "Aunt Caity," she whispered, or attempted to. "Why is she eating French fries with her ice cream?"

"She's pregnant, hunny, don't question what she eats," Caitlyn answered.

"Excuse me," Anastasia glared at Caitlyn, "We've eaten this not pregnant. When Mitchie was having funky cravings, we tried some of them. It's not my fault it's good."

"So, Aunt Stas is having a baby?" Marybeth asked Caitlyn again.

Caitlyn nodded. "Yes she is. But not for a while yet," she answered.

Marybeth thought for a moment. "How come you don't have a baby, Aunt Caity? Aunt Mitchie does, and Aunt Stas does. Why don't you?"

Caitlyn froze for a moment before grinning and picking the little girl up onto her hip. "Because I have something more awesome. I have an amazing niece."

She smiled happily and hugged Caitlyn's neck. I shared a look with Caitlyn and I could tell she wanted to adopt Marybeth as much as Nate did.

Nate and Marybeth stayed for the following week, but had to return home. She still had school to go to, even though Nate took her out for a week. She was sad that she had to leave, but we promised her we'd see her in two weeks for Christmas. Everyone was going to Caitlyn and Nate's for our usual 'pre-holiday gathering'.

I was looking forward to it, but not the trip down. The trip to PA was everything I thought it would be. Hell. "Next time, we take the train," I groaned as we pulled up in front of Nate and Caitlyn's house.

"Yeah, yeah. Grab the twins so I can get the bags," Shane replied, already heading to the back of the SUV. Sadly, I really missed driving around in the Mustang. It wasn't often that we did. I had gotten my license recently and since then I was almost never in the Mustang.

"Come on, Little Ones, let's get you inside," I spoke to the babies, making sure the blankets were wrapped around the bodies and faces before taking their carriers out of the back.

Nate and Jason came out a moment later. "Here," Nate said taking the carriers from me while Jason went and helped Shane with the bags. I grabbed the diaper bag and followed Nate into the house.

Every was excitedly greeted each other as if we hadn't seen each other in months instead of just weeks. Greetings were exclaimed much more than stated and hugs were large and far from scarce. That's when you know you're home: when everyone acts as if you've been gone for years.

I felt a small tug on my shirt and looked down to see Marybeth looking up at me. "Aunt Mitchie, you and Uncle Shane have to come see my room! Uncle Nate said it was a Christmas present. He made it purple and it's so cool!" she rambled as she dragged us upstairs. Shane and I smiled at her as she ran around the room showing us everything Uncle Nate changed.

"That's so cool, sweetie," I agreed with a lot of enthusiasm as Shane and I sat down on her tiny bed.

"I love Uncle Nate and Aunt Caity. I wish I could stay here instead of with Grandpa and Lin," she admitted sadly.

"Did you ask Santa?" Shane asked her, pulling into his lap. She nodded. "Well, then. You just have to wait and see if Santa pulls off a Christmas Miracle for you."

"What if he doesn't?" she asked.

"You're an amazing little girl. I'm sure he will," I assured her.

Shane and I were privy to her _other_ big Christmas present. On Christmas morning, Nate and Caitlyn were going to ask her if she would like to live with them permanently and explain that they wanted to adopt her. Obviously, it was going to be a very happy Christmas in the Frances household.

The adults, which was very odd to refer to ourselves as, all gathered in the kitchen to make dinner while Marybeth kept an eye on the twins out in the living room. She felt like a big girl getting to baby sit. The guys kept getting mad at us for sneaking over to the window between the two rooms or the doorway and awing at them and taking pictures. The twins had those things they lay under with the things hanging down from them, and Marybeth was laying under them with them at one point. She also read to them and pulled their blankets over them when they fell asleep. She was too cute when she came tip toeing into the kitchen.

"Aunt Mitchie!" she whisper yelled.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked bending down to her height. "Are the babies okay?"

She nodded. "They're sleeping and you guys are loud!" she whisper yelled again. "You're going to wake them up!"

I smiled at her, knowing they were probably out for their nap and it wouldn't bother them, but told everyone to be quieter. She smiled brightly and tip toed back into the living room.

"No wonder you want to keep her," I bumped hips with Nate. "_I _want to keep her!"

"Too bad, we had her first," he replied, wrapping his arm around Caitlyn's waist.

"Do you think she's going to want to stay with us?" Caitlyn asked worriedly.

Shane and I nodded. "Oh, yeah. You're going to have one very happy girl who loves Santa on Christmas Morning," Shane laughed.

Caitlyn and Nate looked at us oddly. "She told us she wished she could live with you guys, and we told her that she was a good girl, so Santa might just have a Christmas miracle waiting for her," I explained.

"She really said that?" Anastasia asked, looking up from the carrots she was peeling. Her stomach was just start to get more pronounced and she looked adorable pregnant.

"Yup," Shane answered from his place next to her cutting up the carrots she had already peeled.

"So, when are we opening presents?" Jason asked as he rinsed off the potatoes that had been peeled. We still don't trust him with sharp objects.

"Jay, don't make me send you out with the kids. You're babysitter will be mad if you wake up the twins," Anastasia threatened, holding the peeler up in a menacing fashion.

"Never upset a pregnant lady with sharp objects," Nate said in a monotone voice. "How many times were we reminded that with Mitchie? Why would you do it with your own wife who's more likely to actually attack you, hormonal or not?" He asked Jason, not even looking up from the stove were he was making corn.

"I resent that," Anastasia replied, holding her peeler at him now.

Even thought she was next to him, Nate didn't look up or flinch. "Stas, you know it's true so don't even try it. For example, you're threatening me with the peeler, right now, aren't you? And I'm not even looking at you."

Anastasia pouted and took her peeler back to her carrots. Caitlyn and I stifled our laughs. Shane and I shared a knowing look, though, remembering some of my crazier moments of pregnancy.

"Anyway, Jason, we'll be opening presents after dinner. We want to stop in Jersey to visit my parents, so we're leaving after breakfast tomorrow," I explained to him.

"Okay. I was only asking cause I can't wait for the kids to open their presents," he grumbled.

"Jason, I hate to break it to you, but the twins will probably just drool on their presents, and Marybeth is going to love whatever you give her unless its absolutely a horrendous gift," Caitlyn laughed.

"Pretty much," I agreed. "Though they don't really drool that much… I mean, for normal people yes, but not for babies. I expected worse."

"Then you lucked out and shouldn't question it," Anastasia advised, pointing her peeler again. Caitlyn and I smiled at each other again. Pregnant Stas was fun to watch.

"Alright, let's get this piggy cooking," I grinned as Caitlyn and I lifted the pan with the spiral ham we were preparing. "Nate, oven, open it."

Nate moved out of the way and opened the preheated oven. We slid the pan into the oven and I lifted the door close with my foot.

"Alright, what next?" Caitlyn asked. And we just kept on cooking until the ham was done. Then we let it cool while we finished up.

Caitlyn and Nate insisted on buying highchairs for the house for the twins so we didn't have to worry about it whenever we came to visit. It just so happened to be the same highchairs we had at home. At least the babies would be comfortable. I had Cecelia between myself and Jason, who was on one end of the table, while Shane had Justin between him and Nate, who was at the other end. Across the table from us was Anastasia next to Jason, then Caitlyn, then Marybeth next to Nate. She was an adorable addition to our family.

"So, who wants to say grace?" Nate asked, looking around the table.

We all looked at him. "You're at the head and it's your house," Shane laughed.

"Fine," he sighed, reaching out to grab Marybeth's hand. For the fun of it, Nate grabbed Justin's hand instead of Shane's. Well, more like he wrapped Justin's hand around his index finger. Shane grinned and took Justin's other hand. I shook my head, but Jason and I did the same with Cecelia. We all bowed our heads and listened to Nate say grace. "Amen," he finished.

"Amen," we all repeated.

"Dig in," Caitlyn smiled.

Half way through dinner, Marybeth started crying. Caitlyn and Nate took her out of the room to calm her down. She apparently missed her parents. When they came back in the room, Nate was carrying her and sat her on his lap as they finished eating. We all knew that Caitlyn and Nate were going to make great adoptive parents for her. Just watching them interact was enough. If they weren't perfect parents, oh well. No one was.

"I do not want to do those dishes," I groaned, looking at the pile of dirty dishes waiting on the counter. We had just cleared off the table and no one had dared touch them yet. There was a dishwasher, but they still had to be rinsed off first.

"Compromise. We do the dishes, you make breakfast. _Or_ you do the dishes and we make breakfast," Caitlyn said, gesturing to the guys.

They shared a look. "Dishes!" they exclaimed together.

While they set to start the dishes, Caitlyn, Anastasia and I went to relax in the living room with the kids.

"So, how did that photo shoot go?" Anastasia asked leaning back against the plush couch.

"They looked so cute. We're getting copies of a lot of the pictures. The ones with Shane are just… adorable. I think I'm going to be one of the mothers that has their kids portraits done like, twice a year because they just look so amazing. They did this one pose where Shane was sitting like he'd be playing a guitar. It's kinda hard to explain. I was a nervous wreck thinking he was going to drop one of them, but picture looks amazing," I gushed.

"You know what we've never done that we totally should," Anastasia mused. "We should have a family portrait done."

"And by family, you mean, the six of us?" I asked.

"No, I mean the nine of us… soon to be ten. But a picture of just the six of us would be cool too. Do you remember the first one we took?" she asked, thinking back.

Caitlyn chuckled. "You mean her birthday party? When Connie was getting mad because Mitchie wouldn't put Jacob down and then when she finally did, he jumped up on Shane's lap just in time for the picture anyway?"

"Yup," Anastasia laughed. "Oh, and then that one on tour…"

"The one of us sleeping?" I asked.

"What one of us sleeping?" Caitlyn asked.

"Which one are you talking about?" I asked back.

Anastasia laughed. "The day we went shopping and Shane's jaw almost broke from how hard it hit the floor."

"Ooh, I remember," I laughed. "He vowed to never let you take me shopping again, I think. I don't know. So much as happened since then." I laughed softly.

"Yeah," they agreed. We sat in a comfortable silence just watching Marybeth with the twins.

"Presents time!" Jason yelled running into the living room and sitting next to the tree. "I get to play Santa!" he claimed.

"Have at it, Jase," Shane laughed sitting on the floor and lifting Cecelia into his lap.

I sat next to him and picked up Justin.

"Presents?" Marybeth asked Jason. He nodded and lifted her into his lap.

"See, myself, Nate, and Shane's first Christmas with Mitchie and Caitlyn we weren't able to spend together. We all went home. So before we all left to go home, we exchanged gifts. We sat in a big circle and opened presents one at a time. And we do it every year now," Jason explained, beginning the tradition of explaining why we celebrate Christmas early to the kids. Marybeth made him tell it every year to the new babies and then it just became second nature.

"Oh," was all Marybeth replied before Nate picked her up, sitting her on his own lap. "Uncle Nate!" she giggled.

"Hey, I had you first!" he replied tickling her. "Besides, Uncle Jason has to pass out presents."

Marybeth was surprised to find that presents didn't mean one present from each of us. We each spoiled her like crazy. Barbies, doll houses, anything girl, we bought her. Nate and Caitlyn had given her two presents and promised her there would be more on Christmas morning. The twins were spoiled as well. I honestly could not wait for Anastasia to have the baby so I could understand why they spoiled the twins the way they did.

The beginning of our Christmas activities had been fun. Now that our _family _wasout of the way, we had to deal with our families. First stop was my parents in Jersey, then it was Christmas Eve at the Grey's. Amusement was sure to ensure when Nicky was in the area.

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Hopefully your reviews will cheer me up.


	18. Chapter 17

Hello, lovies. I got sick again sorry. And I was also stuck on how to bring the fun Steve/Connie moments back that you've all complained about missing. I think I did an alright job bringing 'em back, and Ally, Becky, and Nate all liked it, so. =P Oooh, and, tell me you saw Don't Forget? Because Demi looks EPIC and ooh ooh! KCA, Joe's hair. Come on, swoon with me. Lol. And Demi looked amazing then too. Okay, I'm done. For now. I can't wait for JONAS in May or PPP whenever it comes out. And as much as I hate her, my cousin and I are going to see the Hannah Montana movie. Yes, two 18 years are going to watch HM. Then again, I'm in college and writing fanfic for DCOM. I lack in maturity with my TV selections.

Okay, I'm done now. Promise.

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Chapter 17:

I groaned as Shane woke me up. We'd just pulled off the highway and would be at my parents' house in a few minutes. It still amazed, and sometimes upset, me that 'my parents'' used to be 'home.' Then one spoiled pop star changed all that.

I smiled as I looked at Shane and then back at the babies. I frowned, though, as realization settled over me. One day, our home, mine and Shane's, wouldn't be their homes anymore. They were going to grow up and move out and leave me.

Shane must have noticed me frowning and reached over, lacing our fingers together. "What's wrong, Mitchie?" he asked, not letting his eyes linger on me more than a few seconds.

"They're going to leave me," I pouted, distraught.

Shane chuckled. "Are you going to do this every time we visit your parents? Seriously, Mitchie, you have a inner monologue about how everything has changed every time we do."

I huffed slightly. "Yeah, well. The best way to judge your present is by your past. I can't help but think about how much everything changes when we come back here, Shane."

"I know, I know. A lot has changed. This is our fourth Christmas together," he smiled. "Wow. Four years."

"It doesn't feel like it, but at the same time it feels like it's been forever."

Shane looked back at the twins while stopped at a light. "Yeah, it feels like they were born yesterday."

"They're already 5 months, Shane. I don't know if I like this whole growing up thing. I like them fitting in my arms with minimal effort."

Shane just laughed as he pulled into the driveway of my parents' house. "Next time, your parents can come see us in Boston," he decided, realizing we still had another three hour drive ahead of us after we left my parents. It was a little past 11 at the moment and we had to leave by 4. "We're insane for doing all of this traveling with newborns."

"I agree. Come on. Mom's been dying to see them for weeks," I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt. "Apparently the endless pictures and videos I send her are _just not enough._ It'll be enough when she baby sits them for a weekend."

"A weekend of sex?" he asked, his ears perking up. I didn't answer and got out of the car, smiling to myself.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled as I entered the house. "We're here!"

Mom answered first. "I'm in the kitchen!" _Where else?_ I asked myself smiling to myself.

"Where's Steve?" Shane asked as we set the babies on the kitchen chairs, seeing as the table was covered in food.

"Steve is in the basement… I don't remember what he's doing," Mom shrugged. "I'm cooking. You know I have a one track mind when it comes to making my food."

"I'm gonna go find your Dad," Shane told me as he kissed my temple.

After he disappeared, Mom turned to me, slightly, still cooking. "_So…_ how is everything?" she asked _innocently_.

"Fine," I replied smirking to myself. I knew what she wanted to know, but I wasn't going to tell her unless she asked. "Can I get to the sink? I want to heat up their bottles."

She moved out of my way to let me and asked, "Everything between you and Shane's doing better?"

"Mom, this a conversation you really don't want to hear," I tried to warn her.

"Oh, try me. I've been a mother and a wife longer than you. I can handle the truth about my daughter's marriage," Mom scoffed.

"We had sex and everything just… worked out," I shrugged.

Mom's hands stilled from the vegetables she was cutting. "What do you mean, 'you had sex' and everything just 'worked out'?"

"Um, well…. We hadn't… had… sex… since I was pregnant?" I asked more than stated.

Mom turned to face me, her knife pointing at me in a knowing fashion. "Mitchie, my darling daughter. Never, _ever_, deprive you _or_ your husband of sex. It makes you both so cranky. Why do you think Daddy and I hardly ever fight? We have sex at least once a week."

"Oh, Mom! Overshare! Overshare!" I cried covering my ears.

Mom laughed at me. "Oh, I can hear about your sex life, but you can't hear about mine?" she teased.

"I didn't ask! You did! Oh, god, mental images. I mean, I knew you guys had done it, I mean, I exist but… ew."

Dad and Shane came up in the middle of my reply and looked at use weirdly.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Dad asked.

"Mom told me more info than I needed on your sex life," I groaned, still cringing. Shane choked on the soda he'd just sipped from laughter.

"Well, sex is an important part of married life, honey," Dad agreed with Mom.

"Oh, god. Can we go back to the sex talks revolving around where you two tell me _not_ to have sex?" I begged.

Shane choked again, but this time out of horror. "No, we are not doing that again!" he practically yelled. "A year, Mitchie. A year! Do not do that to me again!" he begged.

"A year? Wait, you two weren't having sex?" Dad asked.

I groaned and buried my face into my hands. "Can we please stop talking mine and Shane's sex life and your sex life? Please? This is so beyond weird."

"Fine, fine. I was just saying…" Mom shrugged, going back to her cooking.

"Shane, Daddy, you want to fed the twins for me? Thanks," I grinned handing each of them a bottle as they picked up one of the babies.

Before I could ask Mom if she needed help, I heard Dad, "I've been there, son. When we found Connie was pregnant with Mitchie, we didn't have sex at all. I went 9 months. Worst 9 months of my life, let me tell you."

"Oh, god, Dad," I groaned, though I saw Shane nodding in agreement. "Mom, what do you need help with?"

"Just finishing up these vegetables. You can set the table," she suggested.

"If it gets me out of here, gladly," I sighed, practically running out of the room.

After an early dinner, we exchanged presents, where, thankfully, no ones' sex lives were mentioned. My parents spoiled the twins as well. I kept looking between the pile of presents, out the window to our already stuffed SUV, the twins and Shane. I was trying to figure out how we were going to fit everything in the car.

My parents tried to keep a conversation going though and started asking about school while Shane and I unwrapped the babies presents.

"Are you excited to be going back?" Mom asked.

I nodded. I was starting classes again in 3 weeks. "I am. I already have my schedule and my books, so… I'm looking forward to being around people my own age again. Though I am going to miss these two."

Dad nodded and asked, "So, what are you going to do when Shane goes back into the studio and you have class?"

That question threw us off balance. We hadn't thought about that. "Hire a nanny for while we're busy?" Shane offered.

"Not a live in nanny," I replied.

"I won't be away enough to need a live in nanny," he replied. "Besides, if we need someone to watch them over night or really late or something, we can just take them to my parents."

"I don't want to depend on your parents all the time," I argued.

He sighed, "You don't want a live in nanny either. And neither do I. I'd rather impose on my mother than leave my kids in the hands of a stranger."

"Oh," was all I managed to reply. Okay, okay. I admit, the reason I was against a live-in nanny _was_ the whole, Father-Nanny-affair tendency lingering in the back of my mind. The thought of a stranger raising my kids didn't really enter my mind. But, it made me happy to hear Shane so against a live in nanny, too.

"You two seem to have gotten better at discussing things," Mom pointed out knowingly.

I shrugged. "Shane realized we have to talk things out and I realized that I have to not lose my patience so easily."

Mom smiled. "Told you, you'd get patience once you became a parent."

I rolled my eyes. "You told me that when I was 15 and hadn't started my period yet."

"Eww," Shane cringed lightly.

I smiled at him and pinched his cheek. "Just wait! You have a daughter that you're going to have to deal with in 12 years when she starts to talk about boys, and makeup, and her period, and all that fun girly stuff."

Instead of losing his cool and letting me win, Shane opted to throw it back at me. "And just wait for the first time you walk into Justin's room and find him with morning wood," he smirked.

"I woke up _next_ to you with morning wood a few times, dear. Doesn't bother me," I replied cheekily.

"Okay, overshare!" Mom interrupted. "I get your point on the, 'let's not go into details of our sexlives'," she cringed.

"Woah, wait a minute. You shared a bed with a horny teenager?" Dad demanded. "Why was I not informed of my baby girl sharing a bed with a horny teenager?"

"You did know, Dad. He slept over here a few times," I replied confused.

"You lied to me!" he pointed his finger at Mom. "You said her and Caitlyn were sharing a bed and Shane was staying in Mitchie's bed! And when she slept over there that they had a guest room."

"You were never in our apartment, were you?" Shane asked.

"Let me find out you touched my daughter before you were married and you might not ever have anymore kids," Dad threatened.

"Daddy… do you remember the wonderful articles written about me being a virgin on my wedding night that appeared in all those sleazy magazines?" I asked.

"They also claimed you were dating Jason behind his back, do you really think I have much faith in those?" Dad questioned back.

"Oh, Steve, they didn't do anything," Mom replied. "Right?" We nodded, laughing slightly to ourselves as Dad continued to fume. "Besides, they're married now, she's already had a baby, or two rather, so it's not like you threatening him _now_ will do any good."

"Besides, Nate's the one you should have been threatening back then, not me," Shane mumbled.

"What was that about Nate?!" Dad practically yelled.

I elbowed Shane to get him to shut up. "Nate and Caitlyn were usually the ones all over each other. _Not_ that they were having sex," I said pointedly.

"Oh. I'll just have to wait until that little one grows up and make sure to re-enforce Shane's threats," Dad said mostly to his feet as he tickled Cecelia's foot. We just chuckled and continued to open presents.

After stuffing the presents into the already exploding car, we said our goodbyes and started on the journey to my in-laws. I was thankful for all of the traveling, though. We'd be exhausted, which was a good excuse to cut out early if it got too boring.

Shane wouldn't let me sleep in the car this time, though it seemed. He kept talking to me. I think he was trying to keep himself awake.

"So… you're dad threatened me… _after_ we've been married for over a year. After we've been _together_ for over 4 years… that was odd," he commented.

"Yeah, I don't know. I think he's getting lonely with just Mom. I mean, obviously they're happy, but for a while he had Jacob when me and Mom weren't there. Maybe we should get him a dog," I suggested.

"So he can talk to it instead of himself?" Shane chuckled.

"No! Give him something to take care of again. Mom gets so caught up in her cooking, I don't think she notices how bored Dad gets. He really only has the store since most of his friends are too busy with their own families," I explained.

"Okay, so we'll talk to your Mom about getting Steve a dog. Even though I just bought him a brand new grill," he sighed playfully.

"Yeah well, I could tell him about some of the things we did before we were married, mister. How would you like that?" I threatened, a teasing edge to my voice.

"Oh, really, Mrs. Grey? I thought you didn't like discussing your sex life with your parents?" he shot back.

I pouted and didn't responded. He chuckled, grabbing my hand like he always did.

The drive went by faster than I was expecting and all too soon we were pulling up at Shane's parents. Other family members were gathered already as we filed out of the car again. We walked in just in time to see Nicky make her grand scene like always.

She came storming down the stairs, clutching a necklace around her neck, Chuck hot on her heels.

"It doesn't _mean_ anything!" she screeched.

"Bullshit. He sent you a damn necklace. A _heart_ necklace. Tell me that doesn't mean anything!" Chuck demanded.

Nicky whirled around once she hit the bottom of the stairs. Chuck was a few steps behind her, balancing his weight on his outstretched arms, one on the banister and one on the wall.

"It's a necklace! Stop over analyzing. At least he got me something I liked. Not something _useful_ for you," she snapped back.

"Why didn't you tell me he got it for you?" Chucked asked clenching his jaw.

"Why were you snooping in my room?" Nicky asked back.

"It was on your nightstand!" he yelled. "_Dear Nicky, I hope you had an amazing Christmas. I thought you should know you're still holding it, so I thought I'd just give it back to you. You haven't let me take it back, yet, so. Keep it. It's yours. Love always and forever, _Riley? Tell me that means nothing to you, Nicky. Go ahead and lie to me! He gave you his heart, I'm not stupid, I figured that one out. And you're wearing it. At this very moment you are literally holding his heart. Tell me you don't love him anymore," his voice tapered off as he looked down at his girlfriend.

Everyone was frozen, watching the scene. Shane still had the door open behind him, baby carrier in hand. And, like I knew she would, Nicky broke Chuck's heart.

"I can't," she whispered before running outside past Shane and myself.

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Oh, and I'm probably going to be editing (finally) slash revising After The Credits Roll, Life Keeps Going, and And It Never Ends sometime starting in April. Nate and I are going to ATTEMPT to reread the ENTIRE series via Skype during Spring Break and edit as we go. So, if you see updates on ATCR LKG or AINE and there's 'nothing new' you'll know why.


	19. Chapter 18

Hey guys! First off, this was supposed get posted as a double chapter. But it's taken me so long to write the second chapter. I'm sorry! I finally got a new job, and witnessing is new and tiring to me. =/ But I'll try to have the next chapter up in um, 2 weeks? I'll try. No promises. As I said, new job=death. But I love you all. =_

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Chapter 18:

This was so typical Nicky. Chuck's face made my own heart break just looking at it. He looked like he had just had his heart completely and utterly shattered. Not even heart broken. It was more obvious in that moment than ever before how much he really loved Nicky. And yet she wasn't willing to return those feelings. I wished I could understand what was going through her head, but half the time I'm sure even she didn't know.

She could be so damn selfish sometimes. Okay, most times. I actually don't know of anytime she's not selfish. Everything is her way or no way. Then again, that's Nicky and that's why we love her. Well, usually.

The babies had started crying almost immediately as the cold air hit them. I handed Cecelia to Shane and ran out the door after my sister-in-law. If anyone was going to understand her, it would be me. Sadly. And even then, that was a long shot.

"Mitchie," Shane called. I turned around and barely caught his jacket as he threw it at me. _Right, _Nicky ran out without a jacket in the middle of the winter. Always thinking, that husband of mine. I smiled slightly and continued to chase after Nicky. She was just down the road, sitting in front of her neighbor's house on the curb.

It was a pretty pathetic sight. Teenage girl sitting on the curb, freezing, staring mindlessly at the ground. I sighed. I felt bad for Chuck, but Nicky was close behind in second for my sympathy.

I silently dropped Shane's coat on her shoulders as I sat down next to her. We didn't say anything for a while, just sitting there. I let my own thoughts wander while she gathered hers. What was so amazing about Nicky that Riley just couldn't let go? She was selfish, could a be a massive bitch when things didn't go her way, always made things harder than they needed to be, and loved to play the victim, even when she was the assailant. Poor Riley and Chuck both have now had their hearts ripped out by her, and where was I? I was sitting her waiting for her to explain to me why, because she looked almost twice as lost as Chuck did when she walked out.

Seriously? What was so goddamn special about this girl next to me? Then I thought about why I fell for Shane. Everyone else saw him as a spoiled pop star, but I saw the good person buried beneath years of pain and jadedness. Maybe Riley and Chuck saw the person buried beneath all of the abrasiveness that is Nicky.

Love. That's why they loved Nicky. It doesn't matter what the world sees. Love is in the eye of the beholder, right? It's unexplainable. So why did they love Nicky? Because they saw something in her that the rest of us didn't.

Okay, well that explains why Riley loves Nicky, but honestly, what did Chuck see in her? She was using him. Did he really think she loved him back? Maybe she did and she was just torn between the two? Well, the only way I was going to find out was from Nicky herself.

Finally, she mumbled a thanks gesturing to the jacket around her shoulders, breaking the silence that had been present since I found her.

After taking a slow, deep breath, I asked her, "What's going on, Nicky?"

She sighed back. "I love him," she admitted straight faced, not looking at me. Her eyes were focused on the distance, not anywhere near me. I was confused as to whether she meant Riley or Chuck, and she must have realized. "Riley. I love Riley," she clarified.

"You admit this finally?" I asked, chuckling slightly. We had all known, especially me after listening to her endless complaining in the airport on our way to Serbia, that she still loved Riley. She wasn't fooling anyone but herself and maybe Chuck, but even then he had to have known.

She turned her endless stare to me and answered completely monotone still, "I never denied it." This confused me. Maybe she meant she never denied it to herself. Then again, I couldn't really remember if I ever asked her if she was still in love with Riley. Or if I had, she just mentioned that she was with Chuck, avoiding the question. But if she knew she still loved Riley…

Thoroughly confused, I asked, "Then, why were you with Chuck?"

She finally blinked and looked away from me. "I loved Chuck, too."

"_Loved_? Past tense." I stated. She nodded. I guess she had really loved Chuck at one point. Is it possible to love two people at once? I'd never known that feeling. I loved Shane and only Shane. When my babies were born, I didn't love Shane less to make room for them, my heart just grew to accommodate them. Did loving two people work the same? Or did you have to love one less to love the other? And, why didn't she love Chuck anymore? Did she love Riley more? Or did she love Chuck less? All these questions were making my head spin and needed answers, so I asked the one she'd be able to answer. "What changed?" I asked curiously.

She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her cheek against them as she turned to look at me. "I never stopped loving Riley. Then I realized I could never give my heart to Chuck and that I never did. I still care about him and I still really like him. I just can't love him," she explained. I guess you can't be _in_ love more than one person.

"So, are you going to get back together with Riley?" Common sense would dictate yes, but this was Nicky, so I had to ask.

"No." See? I was right. Of course she couldn't make things easy. Why should she?

"You have no intentions of getting back together with Riley," I accused.

"Not yet," she sighed. "I'm not ready yet, Mitchie. Things with Riley are so intense. And I'm still in high school and he's still a famous pop star. I'm not ready." That was complete bull. I dated Shane when I was in high school, and the cameras followed him around a lot more. Shane was not only famous, he was a reformed badboy that they were waiting to go back to his old ways. Once, again, she was making excuses.

"Does Riley know that?" I wondered. Had she told Riley she couldn't date him because he was successful in something he was passionate about? That she was being selfish and using something he couldn't change against him?

She nodded again. "Riley knows. That's why he sent me this," she fingered the heart pendant hanging around her neck without looking at it. I had a whole knew respect for Riley at that moment. "He understands. I know I still love him, he knows I still love him. I was hoping Chuck wouldn't know…" I felt worse for Chuck again, knowing Nicky knowingly used him. That was low, even for Nicky.

Rather than dwell on her selfishness, I opted to comfort her instead. I rubbed her back comfortingly and let her know, "Sweetie, everyone knew. We were all wondering when _you _would know."

She chuckled. "I always knew. I just didn't want to admit it. Why do you think I was so afraid at the wedding? I didn't trust myself to be around him without Chuck." At least she had some sense of compassion. She wasn't selfish enough to cheat on Chuck. I think.

"You never cheated on Chuck… right?" I asked. She glared at me. "I was just checking! Man. You never know what the heart makes you do." She nodded understandingly. I was thankful to have dodged that bullet.

"I think it's a good thing things are probably over with Chuck. It was getting to be too repetitive, too routine. I need something new."

I nodded but didn't say anything. We sat in silence for a few minutes. The biting winter air didn't seem to affect us. I could almost understand where Nicky was coming from. The only guy I'd ever been with my entire life was Shane. I loved him more than life itself, but that didn't change the fact that I never knew another man's touch besides his. I didn't know what it was like to kiss someone else -someone I had feelings for, mind you. I didn't know what it was like to have someone else hold me. I didn't know what it was like to have someone else make love to me. And I realized in that moment as I realized all of these things that it didn't matter. Shane was the only man I _wanted_ to share those things with. To share my life with. He was the love of my life. He was to me what I knew deep down what Riley was to Nicky.

But Nicky and I were different. I knew that, too. She wasn't willing to be with one person her entire life. She wasn't willing to settle down so young. I couldn't blame her. Not that I minded my husband or my children, but having a little more freedom and a chance to enjoy my younger years might have been nice. Nicky was a free spirit, though, and she couldn't be chained down so early in life or she'd go insane. I didn't know what advice to give her. And then I realized she hadn't asked for advice. All I had to do was lend my ear.

"So where do you go from here?" I inquired, breaking the silence.

She sighed. "Sing Meatloaf to Chuck and find a new boyfriend," she chuckled. "_I want you…" _she sang.

"_I want you_." I sang back.

"_I need you_," she continued.

"_I need you_," I replied.

"_But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you. Now don't be sad, cause two out of three ain't bad,"_ she finished. We started laughing and I was happy to see Nicky with a smile on her face, even if it was from singing a classic break-up song hypothetically to her boyfriend.

"Some how I don't see him being too understanding on that. He loves you, Nick," I sighed, bringing reality back. For once I wanted her to understand the consequences of her actions.

She sighed, too. "I know. I tried, Mitchie. I really did. It just wasn't there. After the wedding and seeing Riley again… it all just went down hill. I thought I was over him, I really did," she sounded defeated.

"Oh, honey, you were never over him," I laughed. "I don't think you ever will be. I think you found the one."

"I don't want him to be the one. I don't want to have found him already! I'm supposed to live my life and not find mister right until at least college, maybe even after that. And he's not supposed to be so damn near perfect. His flaws should not include he snores adorably when he sleeps and his shampoo costs more than mine. They should include he belches inappropriately and has an annoying tendency to call me babe and not by my name. Mitchie, I don't _want_ to marry Riley!" she cried.

"Why not?" I asked confused. What was wrong with Riley? He was perfect to Nicky. I just don't underst-

"I don't want to be you!" she exclaimed.

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No Nicky hating! You'll understand our dear misguided Nicky.


	20. Chapter 19

I'm not dead! But Jason, my laptop was! And so was my writing muse. But, I finished the chapter, after rewriting it once, because the original sucked. I said no Nicky hating, because, well, the way this chapter went was not the way it was supposed to go. It was supposed to be completely different, and Nicky's initial statement being taken out of context originally, but… well, we, Becky, Nate, and myself , thought it was high time to take this in a different direction. I hope you like this chapter, and I think it really shows the progress of Smitchie. Woo, btw, Jonas rant down below ;)

And! Be sure to talk to shewhoshallwrite or hoplessly jonas bro obsessed about a petition to get JONAS the tv show its own category on fan fiction. net. They're being mean! FF, not the girls ;)

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Chapter 19:

I was speechless as I stood looking at my sister-in-law. Was I that horrible? My insecurities began flooding back as I tried to formulate a complete thought. Before I could process what she screamed at me, she stood up and started pacing.

"I'm so sick of hearing how perfect you are all the time! When you're so not! You and Shane have this fairytale marriage as far as the media knows. He was a lost, bad boy rock star and you were the small town girl who changed him and brought him back to being in the business for the music and not everything else. You were the story they'd been waiting for! And what am I… his younger sister… They expect me to be perfect like him and his step ford wife or a complete rebel like he was! Where's Nicky? With Riley I'd be in the spotlight all the time… and they'd just be waiting to see what happens! I make one wrong move and I'm the next Lindsay Lohan! I didn't ask to be in love with a celebrity and its not fair that I have to suffer! And I sure as hell didn't ask to be born the younger sister of a jaded pop star who married Snow-fucking-White. I'm sick of being compared to you!" she yelled.

You'd think I couldn't get anymore stunned than I already was… but Nicky's words were like a brand new slap across the face.

"And you know what else I'm sick of? You trying to be this… this perfect big sister, when you're not my sister! You're _no ones _sister! I'm sick of you sticking your nose in my business and trying to tell me what's right and wrong! I didn't ask for your advice! And I didn't ask for your opinion on my relationships. Not all of us _want_ a fairytale romance. God, I'm so done with this," she huffed before turning towards her house.

I watched bewildered as she walked away for about 10 seconds. We were so not done with this conversation. "Nicky!" I yelled after her.

She ignored me off course. I caught up to her just outside of the front door. I pulled on her elbow to get her to stop. "Don't touch me!" she screamed.

"What is your problem, Nicky? What the hell did I do to you? Nothing! Stop being a spoiled brat for two god damn minutes and think about someone else! Actually, no, think about yourself and how this is all your fault! No one else's! No one told you, you had to be me and no one told you, you had to be the exact opposite! You're the only one who dictates who you are, and right now, you're a bitch! I don't see what either of those guys see in you! You're a cold-hearted, selfish, self-centered brat, and I doubt you even truly love Riley, because if you did, you'd be willing to make sacrifices for him!" I yelled at her.

Before I could blink Nicky literally reached out and slapped me, just as a confused looking Kevin opened the door. "You know _nothing_ about how I feel! Get off your goddamn high horse, Mitchie! I'd rather be selfish than make him miserable and guilty because I'm unhappy and unstable!"

Rage and anger took over as I snapped and slapped her back. I vaguely heard Kevin yell for Shane as Nicky and I started slapping each other. Soon it turned into an all out cat fight as we continued to argue.

"Ow"

"Ouch!"

"Ah!"

"You don't know anything about me and Shane! And don't you see you're hurting Riley more this way?" I asked as she pulled my hair.

"Don't claim you know anything about my relationship if you think I don't know anything about yours! I have eyes! And Riley understands!" she replied as I dug my fingers into her arms.

"What relationship? You don't _have_ a relationshi- ow! Shane!" I cried as my husband ripped me away from his sister, thus pulling my hair even more.

Kevin stood holding Nicky back as Shane stood between us. "What the _hell_ is going on?" he yelled.

Nicky and I stared at each not blinking and not speaking, though the tension was obvious between us. We were both too stubborn to sink to the level of whining and ratting out the other, just to win. There was greater satisfaction in winning on our own. Sometimes, it was painfully obvious how Nicky and I were two sides of the same coin.

` "Someone gonna say something?" Shane demanded, looking back and forth between us. "You know what, I have two 5 month olds to parent, not two grown adults." I wanted to comment about Nicky not being an adult, but that wouldn't prove my case of being an adult either. "Someone just tell me why you two were pulling each others hair out," he demanded.

Nicky's hurtful words resurfaced and the pain was obvious in my eyes. But I wasn't going to tell Shane all of those hurtful things in front of an audience. I met his eyes for a moment and he understood I wasn't going to tell him now. "You know what," I said straightening my body and holding my head high as Nicky shrugged out of Kevin's grasp. "We're just gonna settle this. Next time you're upset and no one else cares, I won't both to ask you what's wrong. I'll keep my opinions to my self," I directed to Nicky.

She glared at me for a moment. "Well I'm glad we agree that you need to stay out of my business," she replied.

"Nicky," Shane started.

"It's fine, Shane. Nicky's a big girl. She can handle her problems on her own. She doesn't need you or me or anyone to tell her what's right and what's wrong, or how she should act. Right, Nicky?" I interrupted his pending lecture. "You know how to act exactly how you want. A bitch. You've been through 3 boyfriends already… you _obviously _know what it takes to make a relationship work, right? Toy with their emotions until they're in too far and you get scared and break their hearts. I'm not perfect, but I at least I don't toy with my _husband_'s emotions."

Nicky lunged at me again and Shane stepped in front of her, catching her mid-leap "Let go of me, Shane!" she snarled.

"Stop it, Nicky. You're being immature right now. Fighting with Mitchie isn't solving your problems," he snapped. "You need to stop lashing out at everyone else. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal," she spat as she shrugged out of his arms. She glared before heading into the house. Kevin smiled awkwardly and followed his sister inside, leaving Shane and I out in the cold, alone.

"What happened?" Shane asked softly, searching my eyes as he gripped my shoulders gently.

My voice caught in my throat as tears pricked the edges of my eyes. "Not here," I whispered. A moment later I was in my husbands arms as he held me. I buried my face in his neck thinking over everything Nicky had said. It didn't matter to me. I was happy with Shane. She was just too selfish to understand love.

After a few moments Shane pressed his lips to my temple before leading me inside. I was grateful to find my children in the capable hands of my mother-in-law and Uncle Brown. Nicky locked herself in her room, and honestly, no one cared.

I had blacked out at some point between the couch and my bed. I was awake but I don't really remember it. It was a long exhausting day, can you blame me? But I was thrilled to wake up on Christmas morning wrapped up in Shane's arms. He was kissing my bare shoulder blade, coaxing me awake.

"Mmm, why so early?" I groaned, my voice thick with sleep. He chuckled into my shoulder.

"Baby," he whispered, "It's like, 9:30. Come on, get up! It's the twins first Christmas!" he cooed.

"Shane, they can't even open their own presents and they're just gonna drool on them," I whined, burying my face further into my pillow.

"What do I have to do to get you up?" he asked as he continued to shower my bare skin in butterfly kisses.

"That's what she said," I muttered, trying to change the subject of waking me up.

"Well, if she wanted to get me up, she'd have to be you," he murmured sending chills through me. Only he could untwist a 'that's what she said.' Stupid him. Getting me hot and bothered on Christmas morning. Who does that?

"No fair… you aren't allowed to say stuff like that when I'm trying to ignore you and sleep!" I whined again.

He chuckled. "Oh? Why not?" he asked, switching tactics and sliding his hands down my sides.

"Because you're getting me turned on… and I'm tired!" I argued.

"Then get up and I'll stop turning you on…" he whispered huskily into my ear, earning a groan from my lips.

"Fine!" I snapped, throwing back the covers.

Shane sat up in bed and stifled a laugh as I searched the floor for a discarded t-shirt, standing only in my underwear. I swear any other day there were at least two on the floor… Shane hasn't learned the concept of a laundry basket or hamper quite yet. After pulling a clean shirt from his dresser I felt arms wrap around me from behind.

"Merry Christmas, Mitchie," he whispered kissing my cheek.

I grinned and turned around in his arms. "Merry Christmas, Shane," I replied before pecking his lips.

After breakfast, Shane set up a video camera to record the twins' first Christmas. I was certain that if Cecelia was anything like her father, she'd be _delighted_ to see herself with no hair. He was just finishing up as I walked out of the twins bedroom with Jacob trailing behind me. I grinned as he took off to his bowl, where his own presents were waiting.

"Here, let me take him," Shane offered, taking Justin from my arms. I smiled gratefully and sat down on the floor with Cecelia in my lap.

Christmas wasn't anything spectacular. The twins, did infact, droll on most of their presents: the clothes, the toys… the diamond earrings my husband bought our daughter. Who buys a 5 month old who hasn't yet had her ears pierced diamond studded earrings? The fact that I had a much larger, matching pair is irrelevant. The one overthetop gift I couldn't be annoyed at though, was the beautiful matching teardrop pearl necklaces he bought us, with the disclaimer of, "Someday you can yours to her, and she can give hers to her daughter." I _may _have bought Shane and Justin matching crosses. Shane had been complaining for a while that he didn't have a cross anymore, having lost his after the day of the twins' Christening. I thought it'd be the perfect gift.

The twins ended up falling asleep in the middle of the opening presents. Once we were done, we took them to their cribs for a nap. Shane took the opportunity to confront me about yesterday. I had been cleaning up the wrapping paper and such while he walked Jacob.

One moment I was bending over picking up Disney Princesses off the floor, the next I was being pulled by my hips onto my husband's lap. "Talk to me," he instructed as he pulled my legs up on to the couch beside him.

"It's Christmas, let's-" Shane shook his head cutting me off.

"Talk to me. Now," he insisted. "Come on, Mitch. It's gonna eat at you until you tell me. Please," he practically begged.

"You supposedly married Snow White," I replied trying to gather my thoughts.

He looked around our apartment and then back at me. "Oh really? I know we met at Camp, but I didn't realize it was in the woods."

I smiled slightly at his lame joke and laid my head against his shoulder. "Nicky thinks everyone thinks I'm perfect. But 'I'm so not', according to her. And we have the fairytale romance that media just loves. And that forces her to be perfect, like me, or a rebel, like you were. She's not allowed to be Nicky… even though Nicky doesn't even know who Nicky is yet. She just, she said some hurtful things, Shane. That's all."

"Like what?" he prodded.

"Like, I'm always trying to be a big sister to her, and I'm no one's sister. She said she didn't ask to fall in love with a celebrity, and she didn't ask to born the sister of jaded pop star. Well, I didn't ask to be born the only child of my parents," I replied.

"You are a sister. To Caitlyn, to Nate, to Jason, to Stas, to Kevin… and when she pulls her head out of her ass to Nicky. Is that what's bothering you, really?" he asked.

"Not really. Just how easily she turns on me… I try to support her even when I think she's being an idiot, and she turns around and tells me she doesn't want to be me, then goes on this huge rant about how I'm Snow White," I sighed. "Can we take a nap?" I asked yawning slightly.

"Absolutely, princess," he smiled softly before lifting me up bridal style and carrying to our room. "We'll talk more later."

"You do know that by nap, I did mean sleep right?" I asked looking up at him wearily after he laid me on the bed.

I giggled slightly as he joined me on the bed. "We'll see," he smirked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Christmas Eve sucked. But Christmas morning was much better. For once, I didn't feel inadequate to Shane. It looked like things were finally looking up. And this time, there was no foreboding feeling attached.

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Okay, so anyone else feeling like JB got a little too experimental on the new album? From the previews they played on their live chat, wasn't liking the sounds too much. But, I do love Fly With Me. I'm hooked. And Before The Storm… makes me want to cry. Because it makes me think of my ex. Sadly. And seriously, whether you're a Niley fan or not, personally I'm not, would it really be that bad if they got back together if it makes Nick happy? Listen to that song and it really doesn't sound like he wanted to break up with her when he did. I'm a hopeless romantic, I really am. I really don't like Miley, but I'm almost, *grimace* rooting for them to get back together after that song. Someone shoot me. And, Joe's hair! God damn… loved it at the KCA's, but now it's like, not as special… and he needs his glasses to complete the adorability. And ugh, I hate Camilla, but if she makes him happy… gag me. Oooh, and Much Better, being a dig at Taylor! Nick and Joe are so… evil at times. Lol. Everytime Joe mentioned it, which he'd get super excited about, him and Nick would share a smirk. Dude! Seriously? But yay, Joe, not flat out saying what its about and 'leaving it up to the fans to interpret' instead of, 'yeah, its totally about taylor!' Okay, so I'm done ranting now. Peace!


	21. Chapter 20

OMG! Two updates within a week!? Le gasp! And it's long! So, I reread ATCR, LKG, and the first 10 chapters of AINE (honestly I didn't want to read the horribleness that was the later AINE chapters) and I realized so many things I'd forgotten and it really spurred a new chapter. I think I've managed to fix a few things that I had gotten wrong or confused and such. Also, anyone who's read the entire series in one shot would notice things like in ATCR, Nicky's full name is Nicole Josephine, and in LKG it was Nicole Leigh, and in ATCR Riley's last name was McIntire, and in LKG it was McCartney. :D Oops. Oh, and did I mention this chapter is LONG! It is officially the longest chapter of the series. 5971 words. The last longest chapter was chapter Chapter 39 of LKG with 5500 words, roughly. I wanted to beat that… and originally I hadn't, but I came close… and then when Becky edited this, I ended up deleting quite a few pieces so I didn't think I was still going to break 5000, and then I added 1 scene… and ended up almost break 6000. Let's call it 6k okay? :D Hope you enjoy it! And go buy Lines, Vines, and Trying times if you're a JB fan. Then we can discuss. I'm going to the store in like, 2 hours. XD

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Chapter 20:

Though New Years came quickly, Shane and I spent the days between New Years and Christmas having some serious discussions about our future. Nicky's words had really gotten me thinking: if I was 'Snow White' when Shane and I got married, what had changed so drastically that we ended up here? After looking through my journal, I realized… a lot had.

Originally, I had wanted to stay home with the baby, but Shane refused to let me not finish school. I had forgotten that. My doctor was able to make me realize that a lot of the things Shane and I wanted now, were the opposite of what we wanted then. Her theory was that in our attempts to make each other happy, we changed our opinions to match the others, ultimately switching positions. I always enjoyed when she psycho-analyzed Shane, too. It made me feel less neurotic.

Knowing that a major part of our problem was never telling the other what was wrong, I took our new approach of being open and honest about everything. I sat down with Shane, ready to hash every thing out. The twins were with his mother, so we could yell or scream if it came down to it. I was hoping to avoid that, honestly, but I wasn't shying away from a discussion just because it might have gotten out of control.

"I don't want you to stop touring," I stated, opening the conversation.

Shane gave me an incredulous look and looked almost ready to slap me. "What?"

I sighed. "Hear me out?" I asked. He nodded. "When I was first pregnant _you_ wouldn't let me not finish school. I had wanted to stay home with the baby. And, we also agreed we didn't want a new born on a tour bus. I'm not saying I want you jet setting across Europe again, because that's too much for an infant, but the twins will be a year old by the time a new tour would start, that's not exactly a new born."

"So, after the huge fights we had over you going back to school, you're going to not go back to school?" he asked, confused.

I shook my head no. "Let me explain. I will finish this semester at Berklee. Then, we'll be doing Camp Rock. But, the rest of my schooling will be based around whether or not you're touring. If you're going to be touring, I'll take online courses. I've decided I want to get my accreditation as a teacher. I know you want me to sing, but singing professionally isn't the important part. I just need to be in touch with music. That's all I want. I promise to sing around the house more if it will make you happy," I explained.

"You really want me to tour again?" he asked.

I grinned. "Yes! I mean… Anastasia might not want you guys to, because the baby will only be a couple months then, but as my wifely input, I won't mind my husband going on tour. You promised me you'd never go on a tour that your children couldn't go on. Well, I think they're old enough, so I think you could do an American tour."

"You realize that means living on a tour bus with two 1 year olds, crawling everywhere, learning to walk and talk. Imitating what's around them, which you know with some roadies, isn't always the best things to be imitating. They'll be away from their primary doctor, meaning we'll have to either hire a nurse to travel with us or hope we can find doctors on the road who will see us on short notice. I'm not saying I don't _want_ to go back on tour, but when we were going to raise them on the road… we weren't parents yet. It's a whole different perspective now. You sure you want to raise them on a tour bus?"

"I think we can handle it. Them being away from their doctor is like saying I shouldn't take them to the park because it might unexpectedly rain," I reasoned.

Shane rolled his eyes. "The weather report tells you the weather. There's no gage on the kids saying, 'Hey, they might get sick soon'," he replied annoyed.

"So? It could still rain. Weather reports aren't always right. Doctor's aren't always right. I got the go ahead to fly to Serbia and I was fine until I got back. Then I went into premature labor. We don't know what life is going to do, and hiding from it isn't going to change anything. You know damn well you would have paid the doctor to fly to Serbia if he didn't think I should go," I argued.

"Mitchie everything you're citing as 'examples'," he scoffed slightly, "Are proving my point. We don't know what's going to happen, so why chance them getting sick away from their doctor?"

"Shane," I said calmly, "If _you_ get sick on the road, what are you going to do?"

"Call a doctor," he shrugged. I looked at him pointedly. "I'm a grown adult with a much less sensitive immune system," he replied.

I groaned in frustration. "You're being too cautious!" I yelled slightly.

"You're being too careless!" he yelled back, louder. I began chuckling as realization hit me. There was a time when he was the reckless one and I was the cautious one. The irony was not lost on me. "What?" he demanded.

"We seem to have switched roles," I answered.

He thought for a moment before he, too, cracked a smile. The tension that had built up seemed to fade quite a bit after that. "Let's try to compromise, okay?" he asked, still smiling slightly. I nodded. "_If_ we go on tour, we hire a nurse or a nanny or something to help you. I won't be much use if I'm performing and you'll need help. And I'd feel better with someone who has a medical knowledge if one of them starts to get sick," he offered.

I thought for a moment. "A nurse, who is not solely for the twins, but for everyone's health, you, the guys, the back up band, the roadies… everyone. And I'm the only one taking care of my babies. I don't need a nanny or a nurse's help," I replied.

Shane sighed. "Only if," he paused for dramatic effect, "You agree to a nanny if you or I feel you're getting overwhelmed."

"Deal," I stuck out my hand, smiling cheekily. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand.

"Now, you want to become a teacher?" he asked. "Where did that even come from?

I nodded. "Shane, you once told me that if you could teach someone to love music the way you do, that'd be amazing. I want to do that! But, I also don't see your career ending any time soon. By the time I'd get my degree, the twins would be old enough to start learning. I could teach them on the road, you wouldn't have to stop touring and such."

Shane thought for a moment before asking, "But if you get a teaching degree to teach our kids on the road, how will that help you teach music?"

"Double major? You need to pass a test to get your teaching degree even as a Music teacher. You study Music Theory, and you take a few teaching classes. I'd have to do both anyway. I'm just going one step further," I explained. "No different than a chemist wanting to become a Chemistry teacher."

Shane looked down at the table for a few moments, trying to process everything. "Seriously, where'd all of this come from?"

"My sessions. We were looking through my journal and I realized that I had wanted all of these things, and suddenly, I'd forgotten them. And then we were talking about why I decided we should take over Camp Rock, and everything just started falling in place. Shane, I'm happy. I haven't… I haven't been on my anti-depressants for two weeks. By dr.'s orders. She thinks we're on our way back to being happy and I don't need them. That… my environment is what helps or hurts me. The three months I was ignoring everything, they weren't really doing much for me because my environment was hurting me. But, we're so much better now. I can honestly say to you I'm happy." I reached out to stroke his cheek . "Because of you."

He reached across the table to grab my other hand. "Are you _sure_ all of that is what you want?" he asked, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. "Me touring, you getting your degree online, raising the kids on a tour bus?"

"I'm as sure as I can be. I can't guarantee I'll like the choices I've made, but I know they're my choices and I have to live with them, even if they don't go as planned."

"We'll talk about it with everyone else at dinner," he said before leaning over to kiss my forehead.

Shane and I decided to host a New Year's Eve party, inviting all of our friends and my brother and sister-in-law. Before our party, though, we were going out to dinner with Caitlyn, Nate, Jason and Anastasia. Marybeth and the twins stayed with Naomi and Kevin at our apartment, giving us 'grown up time' as Naomi dubbed it.

"I miss them," I pouted while we waited for our meals.

Everyone laughed at me a little. "You are such a mother!" Nate teased.

"Just you wait, Nate!" I threatened playfully while holding my fork up menacingly.

"Oh, god," he gasped dramatically. "Is she pregnant again?!" Okay, so I may have threatened Nate with sharp objects a few times while pregnant. So what? Anastasia has, too.

"What?" Shane asked, his head snapping back to look at me.

I glared at Nate who was smirking back at me. "No, I'm not pregnant again, jerk."

"Could have fooled me," he replied.

"Hey! I'm the only one allowed to be hormonal at this table then, unless Cait's got some news to share," Anastasia interrupted. Caitlyn glared while Nate grimaced. I knew for a fact that Caitlyn wanted a baby of her own and Nate hated not being able to give that to her yet.

Quickly, I changed the subject a bit. "You're really going to be showing soon! I can't wait!" I gushed placing a hand on her 4 and a half month swollen pregnant belly.

" I know!" Anastasia squealed happily. She sighed contently. "I can't believe this is real, ya know?"

"Oh, I believe it's real," Jason pouted.

Shane chuckled, "Stas, are you being mean to your husband?" he teased.

"No more than Mitchie was to you," she threw back.

He shrugged in response. "Guess I could just handle it better."

"Thanks, man," Jason glared.

Caitlyn decided to change the subject and asked, "When _are_ you due, Stas?"

"May 25th," she answered rubbing her stomach. "Have you two thought anymore about having another one? I mean, when the twins are at least a year old?" Anastasia inquired of Shane and myself.

We shared a look for a moment before I answered, "I'm going back to school for this semester, and then we're… taking over Camp Rock this summer. After that, it depends on whether or not the guys have a tour. We talked it out, and once the twins are a year old, there's no reason we can't take them on a tour bus. But I don't think we'll be planning anymore kids for right now."

"Camp Rock?!" "Tours?!" "What about school?"

"Woah, one at a time, cause I have no idea who asked what there," I said trying to process it all.

Nate spoke up first, excitedly. "Tours? Meaning, recording a new album, planning a tour, reconnecting with our fans again?"

"If it's okay with the other two wives sitting here," Shane amended. "Our kids would be old enough to take with us. A year old isn't that bad. And Mitchie's figured out what she wants to do with school and stuff on her own, but whether or not we go back on tour is completely up to the three of them agreeing to it. There is no majority vote. It's all or nothing."

"I can't raise a baby and go to school by myself," Anastasia sighed. "I'm not due until May!"

"And I'm not going to not be around my child," Jason insisted.

"Which is understandable, Stas. That's why this has got to be everyone in agreement," I explained. I reached over an put my hand on hers. "We'd never make you give up school or try to juggle raising a baby and school at the same time."

"We can't," Caitlyn shrugged. "Not with Marybeth, Nate. They're never going to let you adopt her if you're taking her on the road. Granted, Mitchie will be there, but your parents are already hellbent on not letting you," she reminded him. She seemed upset she had to deflate his hopes like that.

"Wait, your parents?" Shane asked.

Nate sighed. "My dad is refusing to give me custody of Marybeth. After we asked her, I talked to my Dad to let him know what was up, and he told me he wouldn't let me. Marybeth is his way of trying to make up for his mistakes with my sister, and it's not fair to her. She doesn't want to be her mother's replacement and she hates it there. I don't know what I'm going to do. If my father won't sign over custody, I have to go through the legal procedures to get custody, and if I do, they'll see Caity and I are married. That will help me get custody, but seriously hurt our careers."

"Oh, Nate!" Anastasia cried, hugging him. She pulled make moments later. "Sorry, sorry. Hormones. Emotions. I'm good," she assured us, trying to wipe her tears away.

"Ooookay… moving on. Nate, honestly, just go for it. If people question that you're married, say you made the decision to get married quickly so you could adopt Marybeth. You'll get the sympathy because of Marybeth," Shane suggested.

"But we still would have been lying. Technically, we've been married longer than Jason and Stas," Nate admitted.

"What?!" Anastasia shrieked. "You were married at my wedding?" she hissed. "That's messed up!"

"There's a reason we didn't tell you," Caitlyn said pointedly.

Anastasia continued to pout while the rest of us kept discussing the current issue. "Maybe, you can explain to Marybeth that you have to wait until you guys are married?" I offered.

"Why don't you just get married?" Jason asked. We all stopped, even Anastasia who stopped pouting, and looked at him.

"They are married, Jase. That's part of the problem," Shane replied.

Jason sighed and rolled his eyes. "_I_ know that, _you_ know that. The press doesn't. What if they… elope, again. But with us actually there this time? When you do 'damage control' you tell them that you were already engaged and hadn't really started planning the wedding yet, but in order to get custody of Marybeth you have to apply to adopt her. You wanted to wait until you were married to legal adopt her, so that A. you were doing it together and B. you had a better chance of getting the adoption to go through." The blank looks didn't fade from our faces, shocked that Jason had a good idea.

"We could plan… a short wedding," Caitlyn shrugged.

Jason shook his head no. "No, Cait, you wanted a long engagement with your perfect wedding. If you elope to the press, you can have a real ceremony later on, just like you were planning. But if you have a real ceremony now, it won't be the same to have a big wedding later on."

"He has a point," Shane agreed. "Cait deserves the wedding of her dreams, just like Mitchie and Stas got."

"Then that brings us back to point a. I still have no idea what I'm going to do," Nate sighed, dropping his head back into his hands.

"Well, we've already eloped. We can do it again. If it means we can adopt Marybeth, then that's the important part," Caitlyn smiled slightly.

"I've already ruined your wedding day once, I'm not gonna make you marry me again when it's not how you imagined it," Nate insisted.

"Nate, it's fine," she replied. "Honestly. I hate seeing her face every time we take her back your parents. It's heartbreaking. If we really want to adopt her, we need to think about her before ourselves. Shane, Mitchie, your children's happiness comes first, right?" she asked us. We nodded. "Nate, I love you. We're already married, and honestly the guilt's been eating at the both of us. I can still have my big wedding in a year or so."

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked her. "Any point before we elope, you can change your mind."

"This is what's best for her. And maybe, it'll be what's best for us, too, Nate," Caitlyn assured him. Nate kissed her temple as he brought her tighter to his side.

Before we could keep that conversation going, our meals were brought out. While eating, Caitlyn brought our earlier conversation back up. "So, Mitchie, Camp Rock?" she asked.

"Well, Brown came to us back in the beginning of Camp Rock last summer asking if we'd like to take it over. Lava's opening up a performing arts school, and they want Brown to be in charge of it. Did you know he had teaching certifications? I didn't. He's going to be the performance director of the school, handling all of the music, dance, and theatre classes. There will be a real principal to over see the academics of it and all," I explained.

"We just recently decided that we would be taking over Camp Rock. We were going to wait until everything was a little more set in stone to tell you guys. This is Brown's last year, most likely. We're going to be running it beside him, learning to take over the reigns and stuff," Shane added.

"That's so cool!" Jason exclaimed.

"What do you think, Cait?" I asked timidly.

"I think," she paused. "That's exactly where you two belong," she grinned.

The conversation lulled for a bit as we continued eating. "So, what about you two?" I asked Caitlyn and Nate. "Once you elope for a _second_ time, you gonna start planning on kids?"

Caitlyn blushed deeply as Nate started stammering. Shane nudged me as Anastasia giggled.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Nate answered, trying to get the color back to his face.

I pouted but accepted the answer as a maybe. Maybes were good. For the rest of dinner we kept serious conversations out. When we got back to our apartment, people had already started showing up and Naomi and Marybeth were playing hostesses while Kevin sat playing with the twins.

Marybeth looked adorable following Naomi around as she made sure everyone was happy and enjoying themselves.

"Naomi, why didn't you call us?" Shane asked as he came in.

She shrugged. "Wasn't anything we couldn't handle. Did you enjoy yourselves?" she asked.

"We did," I smiled at her before pulling her away from the others. "Nicky here yet?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah. And Riley called the house phone asking if we needed anything, so I'm guessing he should be here soon," she replied back.

"Good. I like you," I teased hugging her. She giggled a little and made her way back to Kevin.

It wasn't too long after that Riley did show up. As soon as he walked through the door, Nicky glared at me from across the room. I know she was still mad at me, but honestly. Shane and I were actually pretty close to Riley.

Nicky was next to me within moments, snarling, "What is he doing here?!"

"Nicky, Shane and I are still friends with him. You need to remember that. Come on, please, be civil. I'm not meddling. Okay, maybe I should have given you a heads up, but I didn't want you to not come because you felt like we were choosing him over you. Things are still tense between you and me and I wouldn't intentionally make them worse. Besides, I wouldn't set up Riley to get rejected by you all over again. You're set in your decisions. Just be civil, please," I begged her. So, I was blatantly lying, but no one but Naomi knew that.

She huffed. But turned around and found herself face to face with Riley. "Hi," she squeaked.

"Hey," he replied quietly. "Mitchie," he reached out and hugged me.

"Good to see you, Ri. Glad you could make it. Naomi said you called to see if we needed anything, thanks for that," I replied.

He shrugged and smiled slightly.

Nicky huffed, knowing Naomi didn't tell her Riley would be there, either. "You didn't tell me you were coming, Riley," Nicky shrugged, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"You haven't talked to me since I gave you your Christmas present. I figured you knew I was coming," Riley replied equally tightly. "You know what, maybe I should just go," he offered, hitching his thumb towards the door as he took a step back.

"No!" Nicky insisted, reaching to grab his other wrist. "Stay. We haven't…. hung out… in a while. It's fine. Stay, please." I could see Riley having an internal battle.

"Well, I have more guests to greet. I'll catch you two later," I stated as I began inching away from them. "Oh! Riley, be sure to see Shane! He's missed you," I called before winking playfully at him. Riley shook his head at me but was grinning widely.

"What did you do?" Shane asked, snaking his arm around my waist.

"Me? Nothing," I tried to dismiss it. "Have you checked on the kids?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Are you playing matchmaker?" he asked. I didn't answer him. "Mitchie, come on, she just got over being pissed at you for meddling!" he groaned.

I huffed. "I didn't meddle!" I insisted. "I just happened to cause them to unknowingly be at the same place at the same time. Riley went up to her, not me. He offered to leave, she insisted he stays. I did no matchmaking."

"Who helped you?" he asked knowingly.

I looked away and mumbled, "Naomi."

Shane chuckled. "Let's just hope they get back together," he rolled his eyes.

I grinned and kissed his cheek.

3 hours later, I was putting the twins to sleep. I was about to go make sure the guest bedroom was cleaned up so Marybeth could lay down when she passed out somewhere when I found the door locked. A little perturbed and worried, I knocked. I received no answer and went to find Shane.

"I think someone's in the guest bedroom," I told him biting my lip.

Shane scanned the crowd, trying to figure out who might have been missing. Realization settled on his features as he opened his mouth. "Where's Nic-" he began before the door to the guest room opened and Nicky came running out in an… interesting state of dress.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she was mumbling as she ran out of the apartment.

Riley was on her heels, yelling out after her, clad in jeans and hopping to put on his shoes with no socks. "Nicky!" he called after her.

Riley paused for a moment, smiled half heartedly, chuckled, waved, and ran out of the apartment as well.

Shane recovered first out of all of the partiers who stood with their mouths agape. "I'm going to kill him-" he started, already moving toward the door.

"Stop," I rolled my eyes, pushing him back. "Do you remember her promise to us?" I asked. He nodded. "Exactly. Maybe they'll get back together now?" I shrugged.

Shane sighed but nodded in agreement. "Fine," he huffed.

"Cait!" I called out to her. She appeared at my side a moment later. "I need a favor. Go find Nicky. She's not going to listen to Riley. But, I'm pretty sure you've been in a similar situation. She'll listen to you," I insisted.

She nodded and quickly grabbed her coat, heading out the door to find Nicky. It wasn't too long later a cold and dejected Riley came back in. He slipped back into our guest bedroom silently, though he stopped and apologized to Shane briefly.

"Nate!" I yelled. He materialized quickly, holding a sleeping Marybeth. "Oh, Shane, take her to our room? Grab a clean blanket to put over her though…" I frowned slightly. Shane did as I asked as Nate waited to know what I wanted. "Can you go talk to Riley? I have Cait talking to Nicky. You've been in his place, haven't you? Cait was really withdrawn from you after the first time you guys… you know."

"Yeah, no problem," Nate replied touching my arm briefly. "I'll report back," he smiled knowingly and winked before heading off to find Riley.

"Ugh," I collapsed onto the couch, more specifically Kevin's lap.

"Oof!" Kevin groaned as I did.

"_Naomi_," I whined. "They weren't supposed to get back together, not have sex!" I mumbled getting comfy on Kevin.

"Comfortable?" Kevin asked looking down at me.

I nodded as Naomi giggled. "Well, I'm no advocate for premarital sex, but… maybe Nicky realizes she and Riley should be together?" she shrugged.

Kevin huffed underneath me. "Not likely," he snorted. "She's too stubborn."

"Buuuuuuuuuuut, she might?" I said hopefully pouting.

Shane passed us for a moment then back tracked. "Why is my wife sitting on you with your girlfriend next to you?" he asked Kevin

"Because you weren't here for me to sit on and I was talking to Naomi," I answered.

Shane rolled his eyes as he pulled Naomi and I up from our seats before sitting in the vacant seat. I giggled as he pulled me down on his lap, leaving Naomi to sit in Kevin's. "Better?" he asked Kevin.

"Yes. Naomi's butt isn't as boney," Kevin answered. I gasped slightly and smacked his arm.

We stayed there talking to Kevin and Naomi for a while before we heard the bedroom door creak open. A fully clothed Riley and Nate exited the room.

"Am I allowed to give that minor alcohol?" Shane asked taking in the dejected look on Riley's face.

"We've learned from personal experience alcohol doesn't help any," I reminded him pointedly. He grumbled underneath me.

"Mitchie!" Nate called to me, beckoning over to him. I followed him into the kitchen, bringing Naomi with me. We grabbed Anastasia on our way.

"What's the scoop?" I demanded.

Nate glared at me. "Seriously, Mitchie? You had to bring them, too?" he asked.

"I would have just told them anyway, I'm making things simpler," I shrugged.

He sighed. "Fine, they were talking and just enjoying each others company and he went to go to the bathroom. She met him outside the bathroom and led him into the guest bedroom. Apparently it was loud out here or something and she wanted to hear herself think for a bit. Then he kissed her, one thing led to another, they had sex, fell asleep, Mitchie knocking on the door woke them up. Nicky freaked," Nate summarized.

"We figured," Anastasia shrugged. "Anything we didn't already figure out?" she asked.

"Snippy much?" Nate asked. "And no, I guess not. He's just… confused. And hurt. She wouldn't talk to him. She just kept saying it was a mistake," Nate shrugged.

Shane and Jason came into the kitchen and smacked Nate in the back of the head. "Way to break guy code," Jason sighed rolling his eyes.

"You deny them gossip. Go ahead, I dare you," Nate challenged.

"Nicky and Cait just got back," Shane stated ignoring Nate. We all moved to go find them, but Shane blocked the doorway. "1 of you go and report back to the others."

We shared looks and then Naomi and Anastasia stepped back. I smiled at Shane as he let me through. I found Nicky and Caitlyn in the guest room. Nicky was putting on her clothing properly and Caitlyn was sitting on the bed fiddling with her thumbs.

"Did ya have to do it in my guest room?" I groaned playfully sitting next to Caitlyn.

Nicky glared at me a bit and then cracked a smile. "Sorry," she mumbled.

I didn't say anything for a while, waiting for Nicky to say something. She wasn't talking to so I turned to Caitlyn. "Your husband's a gossip queen," I informed her.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow while Nicky squeaked, "What?!"

"He got the scoop from Riley while you were gone and gave us the rundown in the kitchen," I explained.

"You were talking about me?!" Nicky shrieked. "And what do you mean her husband?"

Caitlyn gave me a look to say 'gee thanks'. "Anyway, I sent Nate to check up on Riley, and he decided to share," I shrugged.

"I'm sure," Nicky rolled her eyes. "So, uh, what _did_ Riley say?" she asked.

"I said _Nate _was a gossip queen, not me. I'm not getting involved. You want to know what Riley said, ask him," I replied. "I told you, I didn't invite both of you to set you guys up. You insisted he stayed."

Nicky huffed. "I _know_. It's my fault. Happy? Owning up to my mistakes. I should have told him to leave not… drag him into a bedroom with me."

"If you think that's what would have been better," I shrugged.

"You aren't telling me why I'm wrong," she stated, tilting her head like Jacob often does. "Why aren't you telling me what I should have done?" she demanded.

"You told me not to," I answered confused. "I'm respecting your wishes and keeping my opinions to myself."

"_Mitchie_," she sighed, growling slightly. Caitlyn was next to me trying not to laugh. I was being a bit of a bitch, but I was giving Nicky exactly what she wanted. And it was driving Nicky insane.

"What, Nick? I'm just respecting your wishes. I mean, honestly I think you should have-. No, never mind. I'm not going to cause another fight between us," I replied. I tried my best to keep my smirk off my face.

"Just tell me," she said.

"No, you'll get mad. I promised Shane I wouldn't," I insisted.

She practically growled at me as she replied, "Tell me!" She looked away for a minute and when she looked back she was on the verge of tears. "I screwed up and I don't know how to fix it. Just! Gah! Stop being stubborn and tell me what to do!"

I shrugged. "Talk to Riley? Sort this out with him? Seems like the best thing. Not hiding in my guest bedroom where you… oh ew!" I immediately jumped up from the bed, suddenly remembering where they had sex.

"Get over it," Nicky replied. "You seriously think I should talk to him? I mean, after I ran away from him after we… had sex?" she asked.

"Nicky, answer me something, why did you have sex with him?" I asked.

She sighed. "Because he kissed me," she replied. I caught myself before I snapped at her and turned towards the door. "Okay, fine, because I wanted to. Because it felt right. He stopped and he asked me if I wanted this and I told him I did, and when I woke up I realized it was a mistake. I'm not ready to be with him yet, even if I do love him."

"Still? Nicky!" I groaned turning around and throwing my hands up in the air. "I can't help you," I decided. "You are hellbent on not being with him yet and I just, can't help you until you let go of that idea. I don't know how to help you otherwise. When I took a break from Shane, I was miserable and thought I lost him for good, and I just… I wasn't ready to lose him. Everytime I've almost lost him… I knew in my heart it wasn't what I wanted, even if I wasn't _ready_ for what was coming. You and I are different. And I can't give you advise when you do things in a completely different way than I do."

"But, Mitchie, I don't know what to do!" Nicky cried.

"Talk to Riley. That's the only advise I can give you is talk to Riley. I'm sorry, I need to go. I promised Shane we wouldn't fight, so… I'm just gonna go before we do," I decided before leaving the room.

I found Shane a few moments later and screamed softly into his shoulders behind him. "What happened?" he asked knowingly, not even bothering to turned around as I snaked my arms around him.

"She _still_ doesn't think she's ready to be with him. I can't help her. I left," I explained.

Caitlyn came out not too longer after I did and found Riley. I was shocked when Riley went into the guest room Nicky was still in.

"Balls gonna drop soon," Shane informed me, looking up at the clock on the wall. I nodded and went to gather everyone up.

I sat on the floor with Caitlyn, Anastasia, and Naomi, with our respective husbands and boyfriends behind us on the couch. The other guests were littered around the living room as well. As the 1 minute count down started, Riley and Nicky emerged hand in hand. She sat next to me while Riley perched himself on the edge of the couch next to Shane. She reached over and hugged me for a moment before the final countdown started.

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1! Happy New Year!" we all yelled. I leaned my head back as Shane leaned forward.

After checking on the babies and Jacob after all of the commotion of the ball dropping, Shane stood up on a chair and tapped his glass. With everyone's attention on him, he began, "This year is going to bring us many new things. New family members…" he looked at Anastasia and then Caitlyn and Nate. "New hopes, new disappointments, new friends, new relationships, new experiences. But it's also going to strength and build on everything we already have. Family bonds, relationships, friendships. Life won't be perfect, far from it, but it'll be worth it. Happy New Years everyone!" he raised his glass. "Cheers!"

I can't say any better than my husband did. The new year was far from perfect, but definitely worth it.

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So, next chapter is already in the planning phase, and along with the next chapter, there will be the first 'Director's Cut' (the other POV's of certain or missing scenes) and it's a Naitlyn scene. So, when you see the update for the chapter after this one (not yet) be sure to look for the Naitlyn one-shot as well.


	22. Chapter 21

So… proof I've got my mojo back? 4800 words in the initial writing of this chapter. Meaning, before I took a break or hit a rough patch. And I really did hit a rough patch, I was just tired. Then… well… I got hurt. As of right now, my doctor believes it Rheumatoid Arthritis. But yeah, I finished this chapter with my left hand only. I'm right handed, so typing and using my mouse with my left hand… And it was because I thought of how to finish the chapter and I couldn't… resist… writing, no matter how much it hurt. :D Final word count for this chapter is about 5900 words :D

And the one shot will be up shortly after this: Smitchie Would Not Approve. It's boarder line NC-17. Nothing overly graphic, but has a sexual air to it.

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Chapter 21:

Shane and I crawled into bed around 4 am by the time the party was over and we cleaned up a bit. Caitlyn and Nate didn't stay too long after the ball dropped, wanting to get Marybeth back to the hotel. Jason and Anastasia headed out shortly after, knowing the pregnant woman would pass out soon. Kevin caught a ride home with them, as they were staying at Shane's parents in the guest room for the night. Naomi had the pleasure of staying in our guest room, after we changed the sheets of course. Riley made sure Nicky got home alright, crashing in Shane's room.

The other guests all left at their leisure randomly, leaving only Naomi in our apartment. Her parents weren't comfortable with her staying at the Grey's with no one there, but trusted myself and Shane to supervise if Kevin had stayed as well. Despite being 18 and in college now, Naomi still respected her parents wishes and opinions and did as they asked. Being the responsible ones they are, Kevin went home. An exhausted Shane had hauled the sleeping girl off the couch where she fell asleep while pulling garbage out of it.

Our 7:30 am wake up call did not come from our children, who were awake but not yet crying. More like cooing that we rolled over and ignored, too exhausted to get up just yet. No, it came in the form of Nicky barging into our apartment, into our bedroom, jumping on our bed and shaking me roughly awake while speaking hysterically.

"Mitchie! Mitchie wake up! I need you right now!" she practically screamed.

I groaned and turned away from her burying my face in my pillow. "Nix, what the hell?" Shane groaned next to me.

"I need your wife to get the hell out of bed and talk to me!" she practically screamed.

All of her commotion finally made the babies start crying, forcing me awake. I glared at her as I slipped on Shane's t-shirt and headed to the nursery. She followed, talking a mile a minute. "Stay in bed, Shane, I'll help Mitchie," she smiled sweetly at him. As soon as the door was closed she turned to me, speaking in a hushed whisper. "We have a major problem!" she hissed.

"Yeah, you woke up me, your brother, probably Naomi, and most importantly my kind little babies who were letting their Mommy and Daddy sleep," I glared at her pointedly.

"Mitchie, sorry, but drop the bitch attitude. I have a serious issue right now!" she insisted as she picked up Cecelia, bouncing her.

"Which is?" I asked already carrying Justin into the kitchen.

"Uh, last night ring any bells?" she asked sarcastically following me.

I rolled my eyes. "If you're here to tell me you regret getting back together with him, I'm going to slap you," I warned her.

"What _else_ did I do last night, _before_ getting back together with him?" she asked.

I looked oddly at her. "You regret having sex with him?" I asked confused.

"A little yeah. Considering… we didn't…" she mumbled something I didn't hear but I had an idea.

"Tell me, you used a condom!" I demanded, trying my best to keep my voice low. She looked at her feet while still bouncing Cecelia. I took a deep breath and went back to prepping the babies' bottles. "Nicole Josephine Grey, when I tell your mother she is going to-"

"No! Mitchie, you can't! Please! I know I said you aren't my big sister, but you are. And right now, I really need you to help me and not rat me out!" she pleaded, her brown eyes identical to Shane's shining with tears.

I sighed, silently praying I'd never have to deal with anything like this from my own daughter. "I need to tell your brother," I informed her.

Her jaw quivered as the tears began to slip over. "Do you have to?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm not keeping this from him. Go wake him up," I told her. She didn't move. "Now, Nicole." The use of her proper name startled her enough to put Cecelia down and head down the hall again, dragging her feet with her shoulders slumped the whole way. Naomi edged into the kitchen cautiously and sat at the table, waiting for me to address her. I didn't, though, not wanting to start lecturing her for no reason.

Shane, still half asleep and pulling a t-shirt over his head, stumbled into the kitchen. "What's up, Mitch?" he asked picking Cecelia back up and grabbing her bottle just as it finished heating.

"Nicole," I said gesturing for her to talk. Shane looked at me oddly for using her full name and then quickly looked to his sister.

"I hate you," she mumbled before clearing her throat. "Riley and I didn't use… protection… last night," she explained, though her voice trailed off toward the end.

"Tell me you're like, on the pill or something?" he demanded, tightening his grip on Cecelia slightly. Nicky looked at her shoes. "I'm gonna kill him," Shane decided handing Cecelia to Naomi as he passed.

"Shane," I warned. "Shane!" He came back with shoes on and his keys and his wallet in hand. "Shane Adam Grey, don't you dare step out of this apartment," I yelled. Calmer, I added, "Going to kill Riley isn't going to solve anything. Calm down and think rationally."

Shane glared before huffing and going to sit on the couch. I handed Justin, still drinking his bottle, to Nicky and went into the living with Shane. "How did this happen?" Shane sighed. "And why did it have to happen when my parents are in Hawaii for two weeks and I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on them? Seriously? Potentially pregnant in the first week of their vacation?" he groaned.

"It's not your fault. She's a teenager. Teenagers do stupid things. We came close a few times, too, Shane. I'm gonna go call Stas and Caitlyn. Maybe they'll have an idea of how to handle this. You know, not as the older siblings currently responsible for their well being. They might be able to think clearly," I said. I leaned over and kissed the top of his head, which was currently in his hands, before heading back to the kitchen.

As I came back into the kitchen, Nicky squeaked, "You're going to call Stas and Cait?"

I nodded tiredly, reaching for the phone. I called Anastasia first, knowing she'd take longer to get up.

"Do you have a death wish?" Jason answered the phone, yawning loudly.

"No, Nicky does. Tell Stas we have an emergency girl meeting and I need her here. I'm calling Cait, too, so she can stop and get her from the hotel," I replied.

Jason groaned. "What did Nicky do now?" he asked.

"Let's just leave it at Shane's planning Riley's murder," I answered.

I heard Jason sigh. "Fine, I'll wake her up."

"K. Thanks, Jase. Love you, bye," I said before hanging up.

I called Caitlyn next and had a more pleasant conversation with her. She was already up because Marybeth had school tomorrow and they had to get back on the road soon.

20 minutes later a grumpy Anastasia and a confused Caitlyn walked into my apartment. "Who died?" Caitlyn asked sitting on the couch next to Shane and I. Naomi was playing with the twins on the floor while Nicky sat in the arm chair, staring at her hands.

"Somebody will if this isn't important," Anastasia huffed.

"Our favorite dysfunctional couple didn't use protection last night," I replied with fake cheer in my voice.

"So, Cait might be pregnant?" Anastasia asked yawning as she sat down on Shane, who let out an 'oof'. We really did need more furniture. "What does that have to do with Nicky?"

Shane chuckled for the first time since waking up. "Wrong dysfunctional couple, Stas," he replied.

"Wait, so they're actually a couple now? Wait! Nicky's pregnant!?" she yelled.

"We don't know. It was only last night. But it wasn't her first time so there's a pretty good chance that she is," I answered.

"You do know that it's possible to get pregnant during your first time?" Naomi asked.

I glared at her for a moment. "Not helping, Naomi," I replied. She shrank back a little. I felt guilty. "Sorry, you're right. So there is a very good chance she's pregnant," I sighed.

"Hey, Stas? Can I have my lap back? You can sit down, but please?" Shane whimpered a bit, feeling himself loosing circulation.

"Wimp," Anastasia scoffed getting up. Shane limped over to my side of the couch as she dropped back into the seat, rubbing her stomach. "Now, what are we going to do?" she asked getting back on track.

"We don't know," I sighed.

"I don't think there's anything you _can_ do until she…" Shane shuddered a bit, "Misses her period."

"You're okay when I get it, but you cringe at your sister?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He glared. "I don't want to think about her having hit puberty," he replied.

"Anyway," Caitlyn interrupted. "You guys _do_ know they have this nifty little invention now called a morning after pill?"

"The what?" Shane and I asked.

"You don't know what the morning after pill is?" Anastasia asked. "You guys had sucky health teachers."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "You take it after a possible conception within the first 2-3 days. It's in case the condom breaks, rape, etc. The later you wait, the less effective it is, and you need a doctor's prescription for it."

"The only time that should be used is if someone was…" Shane couldn't bring himself to say the word. "Otherwise, you should own up to your responsibilities," he argued.

"Shane, Nicky and Riley are in no way prepared to have a child! They can't even have a relationship!" Anastasia snorted.

"I resent that," Nicky interrupted.

"She has a valid point," I replied. "Nicky is too immature for that kind of responsibility."

"Mitchie!" Nicky exclaimed. "Why all of the Nicky bashing?" she demanded.

"Because Nicky didn't think last night!" Shane yelled, snapping a bit. Nicky sank into her seat a bit, cowering away from Shane.

Cecelia started whimpering at the loud noise. I rolled my eyes and glared at Shane a bit as I went to pick her up. "Shh, baby, it's okay," I tried soothing her.

"Anyway, Shane, seriously. Think about this. Do you really want to be an uncle so early?" Caitlyn asked. "Honestly, if it weren't for that pill, you might have already been an uncle."

"What?" I yelped.

"Nate and I were in Nicky's shoes three years ago.," she admitted. "I mean, we didn't realize it the next day, actually only a few hours later, but still. We learned our lesson."

"Yeah, you _eloped _first, the next time," Anastasia muttered. Caitlyn glared at her. "She is right, though, Shane. Come on, you and Mitchie are married and you can barely handle raising your kids. And you and Mitchie are in a much more secure place than they are."

"Do we really need his approval? Can't Mitchie just take me to the doctor?" Nicky interrupted.

"Oh, no. First off, your mistake is not causing another rift in my marriage," I replied. "Secondly, he's your next of kin. He has to take you," I reasoned. I didn't know if that was true, but I needed a reason other than I'm not fighting with Shane.

Nicky huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I understand she is not ready to be a parent. I don't want her to be, trust me. But at the same time, I _know_ my sister. She's going to screw up again and rely on that solution," Shane argued. Imitating Nicky, he said, "Oh, you don't have a condom? Oh well, I'll get the morning after pill tomorrow, teehee."

"Oh, I would not teehee," she argued. He shot her a look that her sinking back into her chair.

I thought about Shane's answer for a moment as my eyes scanned the room. Anastasia was rubbing her stomach and holding her back a little. Pregnancy was not fun. I remembered Shane being super sweet when I was in pain during mine. I thought of Jason and how he was always coming over to 'practice' with the twins.

"I got it!" I smirked, as the idea settled in my head. Everyone looked at me with confusion. "The pill doesn't always work, right? We'll hope it does this time, but Nicky and Riley are going to get a crash course in parenting."

"W-what?" Nicky stuttered.

Shane grinned. "Oh, this will be fun to watch," he laughed.

"You and Riley are going to spend the weekend here, taking care of the twins," I explained. Anastasia and Caitlyn were grinning like fools, while the only one showing sympathy towards Nicky was Naomi.

"That's so not fair!" Nicky argued.

I shrugged. "Okay, well, then we'll just tell your parents when they get home and you'll be grounded until you're 30."

"You're blackmailing me? I came to you for help and you're black mailing me?" she asked, her jaw open slightly.

"No, we're trying to teach you the responsibility of having kids, Nick. Sex is not something to be taken lightly," Shane explained. "We want you to know it can have repercussions."

"And by the way, I'm telling your mother to put you on the pill when she gets home," I informed her. Nicky and Shane both groaned. "Tomorrow, you'll go see Dr. Masis, though, to get the morning after pill."

"So, now that this is settled, can I go back to sleep?" Anastasia whined.

"I agree," I pouted. "Stas, can you drive Naomi home on your way back to the hotel to drop of Caitlyn? And Nicky, guess what you get to do while Shane and I go back to sleep?"

"Go home with Stas?" she asked hopeful.

Shane glared. "Babysit," he answered. She pouted and sank into her chair. After kissing each girl's cheek goodbye, Shane wearily made his way back into our bedroom.

I hugged Caitlyn and Anastasia and thanked them for coming over, then hugged Naomi, thanking her for keeping an eye on the twins and for cleaning up the night before. When the door to our apartment closed behind the 3 I turned to Nicky.

"I know you think we're being harsh," I started, taking her by the shoulders, "But we want what's best for you. And we want you to learn responsibility and understand the consequences. Nicky, at some point you _are_ going to have to grow up and start being an adult. You've only got another 5 months before you graduate, and then reality is going to hit you hard. In a way, we want you to meet reality while we can still brace you against the force," I explained.

She looked at her feet. "I know. Go back to bed. I did wake you up rather early," she half smiled, nodding towards my bedroom. I smiled at her, and with a kiss to each of my babies' heads, I was on my way back to the land of sleep.

Shane was already fast asleep, snoring in the soft, adorable way he does. I smiled to myself seeing his arms resting open, waiting for me to crawl in next to him. Stripping down, I slid back into bed, and back into his arms, falling back to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

We woke up sometime around noon to hushed arguing. Focusing on the voices, we picked up Nicky and Riley, who had shown up while we were sleeping.

"Well, I wouldn't be attempting to figure out how get him to eat it, if you hadn't come over here at 7 o'clock this morning!" we heard Riley huff. "Come on, Justin, open up," he pleaded with the baby.

Shane and I shared a smirk as we started to get up. Justin wouldn't eat baby food unless you ate it first. When we were too lazy to fight with him, he got cheerios to munch on. That was usually when there was only one of us feeding them.

"I'm not the one who forgot a condom!" Nicky hissed back. "Forgive me for freaking out."

"You could have remembered, too, Nicky," I called down the hall as I headed to the bathroom.

Shane followed me out of our room and headed to the kitchen. I heard him chuckle before saying, "You gotta eat it first."

"Well, here you go, Daddy, enjoy," Riley replied, most likely handing Shane the jar of baby food. "What?" I could imagine Shane looking back and forth between the jar and Riley.

I chuckled as I walked into the kitchen to see that very thing. "Did Nicky not inform you? You're on babysitting duty for the weekend. So, start eatin' or you're gonna have a fussy Justin later. And fussy babies aren't fun. Trust me," I smiled brightly, patting his back.

"So, we're on baby sitting duty because she woke you up?" he asked confused.

"Oh, no, Ri," Shane answered gripping his shoulders from behind. I watched as he tighten his grip, making Riley cringe in pain. "You're on babysitting duty for almost getting my sister pregnant. Next time you even _think_ about having sex," Riley cringed more as Shane's grip tightened once more. "You're going to remember this, and at least remember to wear a condom."

"Yes, sir," Riley whimpered.

Shane let go and patted his back. "Good boy." I rolled my eyes. "Nicky, did you burp her?" Shane asked seeing Cecelia done eating. "And you wanna clean up the baby food off of her?"

Nicky sighed before taking a wet cloth and wiping down Cecelia who was squirming. Shane and I both knew what was coming. Nicky had overfed her. Her bottle in the mornings usually kept her too full to finish a full jar of baby food at lunch.

As Nicky started burping Cecelia, she didn't put a towel on her shoulder. Within moments of starting, Cecelia spit up all over Nicky's shoulder and hair, earning a small shriek from Nicky.

"Oh, my god, that's gross," Riley complained as he took a small spoonful of Justin's baby food, not even paying attention to Nicky.

Nicky glared at him. "You think you got problems?" she asked, now holding Cecelia away from her body. Riley's jaw dropped while he tried to keep from laughing. "I thought she rarely burped?" Nicky huffed.

"She does," I answered, moving to the fridge to make myself and Shane lunch. "Except, she spits up when you over feed her."

"Told you she was full," Riley pointed out.

"Can I go shower?" Nicky practically whimpered, looking at her hair.

Shane nodded. "After you clean up Cecelia first."

After cleaning up Cecelia again, Nicky placed her in her high chair and rushed to the bathroom.

As soon as she was gone, Riley was chuckling quietly. "She is not going to handle this, at all," he said between laughs.

"Just wait, man. It's not as easy as you think. Eating baby food is just the tip of the iceberg," Shane replied. "Hello, Angel, do you feel better now?" he asked Cecelia, picking her up. She cuddled up to his chest and hiccupped. "Aww, there you go," he cooed slightly rubbing her back.

I smiled to myself as Riley watched Shane with such admiration. Shane was an amazing father, I had to admit. But Justin quickly brought Riley's attention back to him as Justin started razzing at him.

"So, Ri, how have things been with you lately? We haven't seen much of you," I asked as I set Shane's sandwich in front of him.

"Not much. Working on my new album… trying to keep busy. Fighting with the love of my life, the usual," he answered nonchalantly with a small grin.

"Yes, well, hopefully all of that is behind you two, now. I don't think I can handle another fight and break up!" I sighed.

"I just, can't believe she actually agreed to give it another shot," Riley sighed happily. "I mean, she always says she's not ready for something so serious, but she… she was willing to compromise this time. I mean, it's not perfect, but it's something."

Shane looked perplexed, and so was I. "Wait, what do you mean compromise?" Shane asked.

Riley sighed uncertainly. "We're… not exclusively together. She can date other guys will I'm gone. But when I'm around, she's mine. And she's not allowed to have anymore _Chucks_," he spat the poor boys name out like it was a curse word.

"So, she basically has permission to cheat?" Shane asked frowning.

Riley looked at Shane helplessly. "It was the best I could get, man. I miss being with her. I need her in anyway I can get it."

I reached across the table and squeezed Riley's hand. "As long as you're one step closer to being together for the long haul, right?" I offered.

Riley smiled thankfully. "Sometimes it amazes me how much you two side with me, even when it's totally against what Nicky wants."

I shrugged. "It's not choosing sides or against what Nicky wants. It's about seeing what Nicky can't. We just want her to be happy. You made her happy, just like Naomi makes Kevin happy in ways I've never seen Savannah do."

"She's pretty cool from what I gather. Kevin seems smitten with her. I remember the first time I met Kevin and Savannah, they spent the entire night making out in the corner, but when I met Naomi last night, he just kept touching her. Either his hand was on her back or playing with her hair. They were content in each other's presence. Much better impression than Savannah," Riley agreed.

"I've actually remembered her name!" Shane replied sounding shocked.

I made a face at Riley as I replied, "Sadly, that's a pretty huge feat for him."

Shane made a face back at me, but Nicky's voice calling out from the bathroom cut off his rebuttal. "Mitchie, could I borrow a shirt?"

Chuckling, I headed into my room to get her a pair of sweats and one of Shane's old ragged t-shirts, knowing she'd get something else on whatever I gave her at some point today. "Here," I said, holding it inside the door.

She grabbed with a small thank you before groaning. "Mitchie, why does he still have this shirt? It's from like 8 years ago," she complained.

"You could put your puke stained shirt back on," I called, walking back into the kitchen. Riley chuckled again while Shane just shook his head.

"Okay, we fed them… now what?" Riley asked as Nicky came back.

"Now, you get them to exercise!" I cheered.

"We what?" they asked.

Smiling, Shane and I headed into the living room, gesturing for them to follow with the babies. "Put them on their blanket on the floor," I instructed. "Now, try to get them to push up or roll over. You need to help their motor skills develop. They can do them, but only sporadically when they want to."

For Shane and I, that experience had us laughing our butts off at them. For Riley and Nicky, well… it didn't go over too well at all. Justin kept pulling Nicky's hair, having grown fond of reaching out for objects. Riley, on the other hand, couldn't get Cecelia to move at all. Every time he'd say her name, she'd just start making noises.

"Well, Justin's got a pretty good grip, but I'm not really sure that was the point of this," Nicky whined as she rubbed her sore scalp.

"Watch," Shane said, moving to our daughter. He grabbed one of her hands and feet and rolled her slightly in one direction. When he let go, Cecelia rolled back in the other direction. Next, he moved over to Justin, rolling him onto his stomach. Justin picked his head up and was holding it at a decent angle. "He'll push up when he wants to, but right now he's just holding his head up, which is good."

"You have to show them," I explained as Shane sat down next to me again. "They're going to do things on their own and at their own accord, but if you encourage them and prompt them to do it, it helps the skills develop fast. Oh, good boy!" I cooed at the end, as Justin pushed up his front half, looking up at Shane and myself.

"I thought babies just ate, slept, cried, and sometimes played," Nicky whined. Shane and I watched as Justin's face twisted a bit while he laid back down. Then Nicky's face contorted. "Oh, god, what is that smell?"

Riley, chuckling slightly, leaned over and said quietly, "I think he either just pooped or farted at you."

"Oh, no, I got puked on. I am not changing the first poopy diaper!" she protested. Riley rolled his eyes but picked up Justin anyway. Shane followed him into the babies' room to assist in changing the diaper.

"Being a parent's more work than you thought, huh?" I asked Nicky who was now rolling Cecelia around.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, but answered anyway. "No… I just didn't think _babies_ were this hard. I thought when they got older it got harder," she answered.

I smiled. "It does. They start to crawl and then they start to walk. Then they start to talk. Then they hit puberty…" I listed playfully. "But it's hard in the beginning, too, because they're so dependant on you."

"You know, I never realized what good parents you were," she commented.

I nodded and thanked her. "It's not easy, trust me. But your brother makes it easier on me."

"Yeah. And I guess, I should get used to taking care of twins. There's a significant chance I release two eggs when I ovulate, so… twins may be in my future," she shrugged.

"Your far, far, distant future," I replied seriously.

She half smiled. "Yeah, Mitchie, I get it."

When Shane and Riley came back, Shane decided it was play time, giving Riley and Nicky a break. Really, this meant that Shane got to play with the twins. He sat on the floor with them, tickling them, blowing raspberries on their tummies, etc. He eventually got Riley to grab one of the twins and they each started lifting the baby in the air, spinning them and such.

Cecelia fell asleep in Riley's arms and his face was priceless. "She's so… peaceful."

"She's our Angel," Shane answered as he placed Justin in the playpen to nap. "You can put her down to nap, Ri," Shane chuckled.

As if broken out of a reverie, Riley let an 'oh' pass through his lips before he placed her in the playpen, too. Shane and I shared a smile as we watched him. He reminded me a lot of Shane, who was totally and completely devoted to his children and damn good dad. I had a feeling Riley would be just as amazing when it was his time. Between the way he watched Shane to the way he interacted with the twins, there was no doubt about that.

After their nap, Cecelia and Justin were ready to play again. I had to physically restrain Shane from playing with them to allow Nicky and Riley to take care of the babies. By dinner, feeding the twins was easier for them, mostly because Nicky was able to overstuff Justin without a problem while Riley gave Cecelia just enough.

"See," Nicky started as she cleaned up Justin. "That wasn't so hard," she taunted Riley.

"Well at least Cee doesn't look ready to explode again," he shot back.

Nicky, with hair fully out of the way and a rag on her shoulder, began burping Justin. While Justin let out a few impressive burps, Riley sat burping Cecelia for almost 40 minutes.

"Ri, she's not gonna burp," Shane finally told him. Riley nodded but kept rubbing her back soothingly. Shane just smiled and looked up at me.

"He's just like you," I giggled lightly. After clearing my throat, I commented loudly, "I think something's starting to smell funky."

Immediately Nicky and Riley were checking the babies' diapers. "She meant they need baths," Shane told them laughing to himself.

"Oh…" Nicky commented as a blank look settled over her features.

"I'll wash him, you wash her?" Riley offered. Nicky nodded, quickly handing him Justin and taking Cecelia.

The twins came out of their bath mostly clean and rather happy, while Nicky and Riley were soaked from head to toe and less then thrilled.

"Bedtime," Shane pointed out after Riley and Nicky dried off. They nodded robotically and sat with the twins in the rocking chairs. After a while, they still weren't asleep, but I wouldn't let Shane tell them how to get the babies to sleep.

"They're Shane and Mitchie's kids… maybe we should sing to them," Riley suggested.

"Go ahead, Mr. Professional Singer," Nicky prompted. Riley rolled his eyes but started singing softly. In no time, the twins were sound asleep. "Finally," Nicky sighed as she put Cecelia in her crib.

"Why does it not surprise me that they fall asleep instantly to singing?" Riley chuckled, leaving their room.

"Alright, you two, get to bed. And no funny business!" Shane reminded them as we headed into our own bedroom.

"Ten bucks says Nicky's exhausted tomorrow," I bet Shane.

He shook his head laughing. "Duh. Riley more adapt to this this sort of thing," he answered. We knew from experience that traveling on tours, there were nights you got barely any sleep and still had to get up on stage and perform. It was exhausting, but you eventually adjusted. Sometimes I envied Shane for that same ability.

"I'm exhausted just from watching them struggle," I yawned. "It wasn't that hard for us to work it all out."

"That's because we worked together. 'Look, Justin, Daddy'll eat it,' then you shoved a spoon of baby food down my throat," he replied.

"We did figure most of it out together," I agreed thinking back on all of it. "You know what else we do well together?" I asked smiling seductively.

"I thought you were tired?" he asked grinning.

I shrugged. "We're not the ones who're getting woken up early tomorrow. And, it's still early." Shane smiled, already dragging me to the bed.

The next morning we woke up to the sounds of struggling. I got out of bed and went to inspect. Riley was trying to pick up Cecelia with Justin already in one arm.

"Let me show you a trick," I offered coming in. I took Justin and placed him on the changing table for a moment while I picked up Cecelia. "The only people I've seen manage to pick one up while holding the other are Shane and my mother-in-law," I chuckled. "Once the babies can help me a little by sitting up, it won't be an issue." Riley just nodded and took the twins from me. "Where's Nicky?" I asked.

"Still sleeping. Yesterday wore her out," he answered, shrugging it off.

My eyes narrowed as I headed towards the guest room. "Nicky, get up," I instructed, pulling her blankets off and taking them with me.

As I passed the kitchen to dump the blankets on the couch, I saw Shane was already in the kitchen showing Riley how to heat the babies' bottles.

"Morning, baby," Shane greeted me with a kiss.

"Mmm, morning," I mumbled against his lips.

"I hate you all," Nicky grumbled, walking into the kitchen half asleep still.

"Well, maybe you'll learn your lesson, then," Shane shot back.

"I'm _never _having kids," Nicky replied.

"Right," I answered sarcastically.

Later that night, it was obvious Nicky and Riley had suffered enough, so we let them off the hook early.

Shane and I shared a look before he turned to Riley and Nicky. "Go home," he said simply.

"What?" Nicky squeaked.

"It's obvious that you two have learned your lesson," I answered.

"Thank god," Nicky sighed. "Love these two, but my god is it exhausting."

Riley chuckled at his girlfriend as she sprinted into the guest room to grab her stuff. When she reemerged, she asked, "You coming over for a bit?"

Riley shook his head as he met her by the door. "I'm gonna hang out with Shane and Mitchie for a bit, I think."

"Oh, okay. Call me later," she said leaning up to kiss him. "Love you," she mumbled against his lips.

"Love you, too," he answered. After the door closed, he turned to us. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"Not at all!" I replied. "I want to hear all about tour, and the new album and, well I'd say your love life, but… we're pretty much caught up on that," I chuckled.

"No, I do want to talk about his love life," Shane interrupted. "Riley, you know I want you and my sister together. But come on, man, you're giving her permission to cheat on you!" he stressed.

"It's not like she's the only one allowed to see other people," Riley replied, staring at his feet.

"Except, unlike you, she'll do it!" Shane insisted.

Riley sighed. "Shane, come on… what should I have done? Demanded all or nothing and lose her for good? You know Nicky!"

I placed a hand on Shane's forearm. "He's right, Shane," I agreed.

"Just doesn't make sense to me," Shane sighed. Looking at me, he added, "I could never survive sharing you with anyone. The thought gives me knots in my stomach."

"Oh, trust me, the knots are there," Riley replied. "But they're better than the emptiness not being with her causes."

A sudden silence fell over us for a few moments. "So…" I started. "Tell me about your last tour! You went to Australia, right?"

The rest of the night was filled with Riley telling us tales from his tour down under. I was happy Riley and Nicky were at least somewhat together. It made the guilt of being friends with Riley go away. And I don't mean from betraying Nicky, I mean from hurting Riley. I always wondered if it was hard for him to be friends with us after Nicky broke his heart.

Finally, the night came to an end. After Riley left, Shane and I sat in a comfortable silence cuddling on the couch. The twins had long since been put to bed.

"I'm glad you were selfish," I commented softly.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking down at me.

Smiling up at him, I explained. "If everything we've been through is because you were selfish, and everything they've been through is because he wasn't, I'm glad you were selfish. At least I have you, even if nothing is ever as perfect as we'd like."

Shane didn't answer at first. Instead he kissed me softly before resting his head on top of mine again. "Me, too," he whispered into my hair. "Me, too."

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Now, go read Smitchie Would Not Approve, if you want to. I'd like your feedback on whether or not it seems like a Naitlyn appropriate chain of events.


	23. Chapter 22

Sorry guys, my RA flaired up again. I was trying to get this out before that, but I didn't. However, my beta is awesome and got it back to me asap. All hail Becky. Lol. Hopefully you guys like this chapter. It's got a little bit of everyone in it. Oh, and I'd like to point out that it's been a year since I start this series. *Tear.* I've made quite a few new friends, Like Ally, Nate, and Becky, who are all epic, but also some of my most loyal of readers like Stacy & E, who always bring a smile to my face with their reviews, and all of my other reviewers who I just can't think of you all right now. But thanks for all of the support. Thie series is all of your fault! Lol. Thanks again guys 3.

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Chapter 22:

The more time I spent with a pregnant Anastasia, the more I wonder if that's how I was when I was pregnant with the twins. She's more sarcastic and tackless, yet more compassionate and easily overwhelmed with emotions. She'd also become less fun to shop with.

"I look fat," Anastasia whined from behind the dressing room door.

"You're 5 months pregnant. Of course you look fat," Caitlyn mumbled to me.

Being more sympathetic, I called back. "I'm sure you look fine. Let us see," I encouraged.

Anastasia opened the door, showing us the dress she was currently trying on for the Naitlyn wedding in 3 days that was top secret. The dress was tight around her breasts and clung to her baby bump. "Well, you won't be able to hide being pregnant anymore," I replied, trying to be supportive.

"I'm not getting it, then," she huffed. "I do not want to look pregnant!"

"She realizes that everyone already knows she's pregnant, right?" Caitlyn asked me.

I shrugged. "Okay, Stas, try the purple one," I suggested.

A few moments later a small oof resonated. "No!" Anastasia yelled.

"What's wrong?" Caitlyn asked, sighing slightly. Anastasia opened the door to reveal her not even half in the dress. She couldn't get it past her chest, which had exploded in the last 3 weeks.

"Miss," a worker approached us. "We have a maternity selection. It might be easier for you to fit into the dress. Especially in a few weeks when you're bigger. The dresses are designed to be let out easily."

"No, thank you," Anastasia snapped slightly while Caitlyn and I nodded vigorously. "No, guys, not fair!"

"I was 34 weeks at your wedding and I didn't complain!" I reminded, shoving her back into the dressing room while Caitlyn and I went to inspect these maternity dresses.

"For a spontaneous elopement, this wedding is taking too much planning," Caitlyn hissed before pouting as we sifted through the dresses.

"I know. But we have that charity benefit that the boys are performing in at the end of the month. So, she'd need a new dress anyway," I shrugged.

Usually, the guys didn't do much outside of touring and an occasional extra show here or there. But since becoming parents and uncles, they've put a lot more effort into doing stuff for charities and such. Their most recent project was a children's hospital that was in serious danger of closing. Of course, they still avoided award shows like the plague, but people had stopped questioning why Connect 3 was never there years ago. For some reason when they were younger, Lava preferred to keep them away from the award shows and it was actually on their parents requests. A representative always accepted their awards for them. It never really phased us and we never really questioned it. It made life with rock stars a little more… normal.

"It's not just her dress, Mitchie," Caitlyn whined, her hand resting on one particular dress. "It's everything. You guys have to be down here for the weekend for dress shopping, so we just so happen to have you here when we elope. There's so much going on in my head right now. Is this the right thing? Once we're married and we start the custody battle, it's going to be a press nightmare. And Marybeth's the one that's going to be caught in the middle of all of it," she sighed.

"Marybeth deserves to be happy. And if the only way she's going to be is if you fight for custody of her, well, then that's what it's going to take. As long as the ends justifies the means," I replied, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Would you fight Shane for custody if you honestly thought the twins would be happier with you even though you'd knowingly be going into a custody war?" she asked softly.

Though I hoped that would never happen, I answered, "Only if I thought it was what was best for them in the end." I smiled at her reassuringly. "You're doing the right thing," I insisted.

"I hope so," she sighed before turning back to the dresses in front of her. "Ooh, look at this," she pulled out the dress she'd been holding for a while.

"It's very Stas," I commented. The empire would flair out over her stomach, mostly hiding that she was pregnant. And the color would look good on her, too. "I think we have her dress," I smiled.

"Come on," she smirked as we took the dress back to the fitting rooms.

Coming out of the room, Anastasia asked, "Is that a maternity dress?"

"No," Caitlyn and I replied straightfaced. She didn't believe us but grabbed it anyway.

She sighed as she came out in it. "I don't feel like a pregnant cow," she conceded.

"Good," I replied.

While she was changing back into her clothes, Naomi and Nicky came into the store we were in. "Mitchie, tell her that Shane's credit card means no limit," Nicky insisted, dragging Naomi by her arm.

"Depends on what you think no limit is, Nicky," I replied, arms crossed.

"We found this perfect dress for her, but she refuses to let me buy it," Nicky huffed. "It'd be even more up in New York. She doesn't think she needs a semi-expensive dress for the we-… benefit."

"Naomi, how much is the dress?" I asked.

"But it's perfect!" Nicky interrupted.

I turned to Naomi, ignoring Nicky. "Like, 400," she answered. "That's more than my prom dress was."

I smiled to myself. "Nicky, call Shane and ask him," I decided. I knew Shane would tell her to buy it. He had grown particularly fond of Naomi. We all had. Why else did we kidnap her to Pennsylvania for a weekend to witness Caitlyn and Nate's wedding? Nicky and Naomi had become the 'junior members' of our clique, while Riley and Kevin were the same with the guys.

"Score!" Nicky cheered, already dialing the phone.

Anastasia came out of the fitting room and saw Nicky on the phone looking extremely happy. "How much of Shane's money is she blowing this time?"

"Only 400 on a dress for Naomi," I answered. "I should get a new dress," I decided.

"Well, yeah, that's why we're here," Caitlyn replied sarcastically.

I glared at her as I began browsing the dresses. "Excuse me, she was the only one who needed a dress for this weekend," I hissed back. "I have a dress for the wedding."

"But you want a new one for the benefit?" Naomi asked.

"That I do. Shane likes green. Start lookin'," I winked.

"Yes!" Nicky yelled, before being shushed by a worker. "Sorry," she whispered. "I win. Shane said buy it!" she gloated. Naomi groaned. "Come on," she pulled Naomi back to the store across the street the dress was in.

"Well, we know she's not pregnant…" Caitlyn trailed off.

I looked over at her confused. We had gotten Nicky to the doctor on the second, and it was about 2 weeks later, now. Given her last period, the doctor was certain she wasn't fertile at the time and couldn't have conceived. He thought it best to not subject her to the hormone overload the pill would cause if she hadn't conceived.

"Why do you say that, Cait?" I asked.

Caitlyn snickered, "Cause her jeans have a nice red stain," she answered.

"Oh, god," I groaned. "Come on, Nicky needs a new dress for the wedding," I huffed, pulling Caitlyn and Anastasia out of the store, Anastasia's newly purchased dress in hand.

They looked at me confused. "Why?" Anastasia asked. "Her jeans are stained not her dress."

"Her dress is beige. The last thing I need is a PMS Nicky crying over getting a bloodstain on her favorite beige dress," I explained.

They ooh'd and followed me into the store. Naomi was still fighting with Nicky, insisting the dress was too much, even as Nicky swiped the card.

"Nicky, go pick out a new dress. Preferably dark and not too expensive," I called out to her.

"Oh, Mrs. Grey, you can sign this," the cashier sighed in relief. "I was afraid I'd have to decline it, since it's not her card."

I smiled thankfully at the cashier. "Actually, can you put that on hold? The other one needs a new dress now, too."

"Oh, Mitchie!" Caitlyn called from somewhere in the store. "Found you a dress for the benefit!"

When I found her, she was holding a cream colored dress. It was sleek and straight, yet still loose and comfortable looking. A semi-deep V showed just enough cleavage and still looked modest, while the thick, elegant straps held everything place. It was gorgeous. "I love it," I commented, already looking to see if it was my size.

"Go try it on," she demanded. I smiled to myself and did as I was told. It fit perfectly.

I came back to find Nicky and Anastasia trying to force Caitlyn to try something on. Naomi looked torn between helping Caitlyn escape and shoving her in the fitting room with the dress.

"What's up?" I asked, coming back with the dress in hand.

"They want me to try on this dress. I keep telling them I don't want to wear a white dress to the benefit. The only time I plan on wearing white is my wedding," she huffed.

"Try it on to humor us," Nicky insisted.

I smiled. "Come on, Cait, it's just a dress. Try it on and humor them. I won't make you buy it, promise," I assured her.

The dress was a lace covered corset with a chiffon skirt that had a high-low hemline, being the perfect combination of Caitlyn funky and traditional elegance. "Happy?" she asked coming out. It looked amazing on her.

"Perfectly," Anastasia and Nicky smiled.

"Did you find a dress for the benefit?" I asked Nicky.

She nodded and held up a soft gunmetal dress that was short and poofy. Most people couldn't pull of that color, but I knew Nicky could.

"I think I'm just gonna look when I'm up in New York next weekend," Caitlyn sighed as she hung the white dress up. While her back was turned, I slipped it under the other dress I was holding.

Winking at the cashier, I handed her the dresses. Between my dress, Nicky's, Naomi's and Caitlyn's dress she didn't know she was getting, Shane spent roughly $1600 on new dresses. My husband was good to myself and his sisters. Well, sister and hopefully, some day, sister-in-law.

"Come on. I think Shane's card is crying. Let's go see what he's done to my daughter," I giggled headed out of the store.

While we were out buying dresses for ourselves for the benefit and wedding, Shane, Nate, and Jason took the twins out to buy them formal attire as well. Since the benefit was for a Children's Hospital, the hosts were encouraging people to bring their own children.

I trusted the boys to get Justin a suit. It was my daughter's dress that I feared. I was seeing layers upon layers of tulle and frills and bows and ugly colors. The store Shane told us they were in didn't ease my fears at all when we arrived. It looked gaudy and over the top. The dresses were as I feared. Even some of the suits seemed questionable. What parents would allow their child to where a green and purple stripped suit? Our husbands, apparently. That was what Nate and Jason had Justin in when we saw them. Justin was making faces.

"Where's Shane?" I asked, almost afraid to know the answer as I saw a bunch of dresses hanging outside one of the fitting rooms.

"Trying dresses on Cecelia," Jason answered.

Anastasia looked at poor Justin in disgust. "If you ever put our children in anything that ugly I will divorce you," she threatened, her hand resting on her stomach.

"Oh, this? This is just for kicks," Jason shrugged. "We got bored while Shane was trying to find Cecelia a dress. He wasn't happy with anything. Justin's suit is behind the counter already. It's dark gray and pinstriped, with a green bowtie."

"Real classy," Nate assured us. "But seriously, what parents would torture their kids in a suit like this?" he asked gesturing to my son in his arms.

I quickly took Justin away from him. "The same kind that torture their nephews," I replied pointedly. "Where are his clothes?" I demanded.

Disappointed, they took Justin back and changed him in the stall next to Shane.

"Guys, I think we've got it!" Shane called victoriously. He emerged a few moments later holding Cecelia in a pink and white dress. It had little puffed sleeves and a little sash. The skirt of the dress didn't come much further than her knees and only had a little bit of poof to it. The matching headband and shoes were too cute.

"Oh, it's adorable, Shane," I cooed taking her.

"Here we go," Caitlyn and Nicky snickered.

Shane smiled down at me. "So, I did good?" he asked excitedly.

"It's not over the top, ugly, or green. You did amazing," I replied kissing him quickly.

"About that…" he trailed off.

"Green bowtie, I heard," I cut him off. "As long as you didn't let Nate and Jason pick it out," I shuddered as they came back with Justin and the offending suit.

"Guys, I told you not to put him in that," Shane groaned as he took Justin. They smiled sheepishly.

Shane rolled his eyes and told the cashier we'd be taking the dress Cecelia was wearing. I went into the fitting room to put her back in her normal, less expensive clothes. The twins ended up racking up another $500 with their clothing.

"Ya know," I started, "That's $2000 in clothing for this benefit. If we could have gone in jeans and heels, we could have given them another $4000 most likely," I huffed.

"Get over it," Shane teased as he put the twins back in their stroller. "Lunch?" he asked.

Anastasia nodded over enthusiastically. "God, please. I'm starving," she groaned. We all laughed as we headed to find a decent restaurant.

Two nights later, the final prep for the small, intimate wedding was done. Riley was picking my parents up and flying them in on Lava's private jet. Caitlyn's parents weren't able to make it either way, but they were informed of the wedding anyway.

"I'm getting married tomorrow," Caitlyn sighed as she rocked the porch swing. She and I were sitting on the back porch enjoying the chilly winter night wrapped up in a thick blanket. Sprawled out before us in the gazebo Nate had put up that past summer were twinkling icicle lights and white netting hanging down from the ceiling. A few chairs were set up in front of the gazebo, waiting for the few selected guests to observe tomorrow's wedding. It was a winter wonderland, perfect for a small wedding.

"You're already married, Cait," I teased.

"But tomorrow… it's different. No more hiding," she argued.

I looked down. "Is being married that horrible, Caitlyn?" I asked lightly.

"I'm worried about the future, Mitchie. What if being openly married changes everything? What if it's not the same?" she sighed, but I could tell there was something she wasn't saying to me.

"You'll be fine, " I promised.

"I guess," she sighed. We sat in silence for a while before she spoke again. "I do want to marry him. I mean, publicly. I do love him. I'm just scared. I don't regret marrying him. I regret marrying him without my sister and best friends with us."

"Well, we're here this time," I assured her as we hugged.

We sat there just holding on to each other for a while. Eventually Shane poked his head out of the door. "Hey, Riley and Kevin just got here. Mom and Dad are heading to the hotel," he informed us.

"Thanks," Caitlyn smiled up at him.

"Hey, Mitchie, you think I could talk to Caitlyn alone for a sec?" he asked. I nodded and slipped back into the house, but only enough to be outsight. So I was eavesdropping. Wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last.

"What's up, Shane?" she asked as he sat down, the wood creaking beneath him.

"Do you know how happy he is?" he asked.

"Nate?" she replied.

"Yeah. He's ecstatic. He's happy you can finally openly be married. He said it annoys him to look down and see his purity ring instead of his wedding ring. And he wants to see you wearing your wedding ring, but you can't. And he's excited to finally have a chance at getting Marybeth again." Shane explained softly.

"That's good, I want him to be happy," she replied.

"What about you, Cait? Are you happy? He wants you to be happy, too," Shane replied.

"I don't know, Shane. I'm relieved to not be living a lie anymore, but at the same time… do I really want to risk the growing trend with our group?" Caitlyn asked.

Shane was silent for a moment before asking, "What trend?"

"Starting families," she huffed.

"But you are starting a family. With Nate and Marybeth. What difference would a baby be?" he asked confused.

"That's the thing, Shane. What if a baby changes everything for us? I don't want to struggle through school like Mitchie and Stas are. It's not fair to me, him, or the baby. But I can't help but want one. A baby that's ours. Mine and his. Our own family," she sighed. "This house? Marybeth? They were things that were his that have become ours. I want something that's ours. But I'm afraid of the consequences."

"Caitlyn, do you know what the second best day of my life was?" he asked. She didn't answer. "The day the twins were born. The first was the day I married Mitchie. A baby doesn't make a family, it adds to it. If you're not ready for a baby, don't push it. But if you want to, leave it up to God. He'll only give you what you can handle," Shane promised.

"You and Nate amaze me with your religious views sometimes. You do not come off as religious until you say stuff like that," she teased.

"Well, religion is private in my opinion. It's what I believe. I know Mitchie doesn't believe what I do, but it's okay. It's her beliefs. That's what marriage is about, right?" he asked. "Compromise and working together. Talking things out and making the best decision you can come up with together."

"Is that your way of telling me to talk to Nate about wanting a baby?" she asked softly.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just trying to give you some sound advise on marriage. Since, ya know, I'm such an expert," he replied slightly sarcastic.

"I don't think anyone is," Caitlyn laughed.

"Good, I feel less like a loser now," he chuckled.

"You guys are getting better. And she's happy… like freakishly happy!" Caitlyn exclaimed.

I could imagine the smile on Shane's face going from ear to ear. "I know. Finally. It's good to have her so happy," he replied softly.

Caitlyn yawned. "Man, it's late," she sighed.

"Come on, let's get you inside, Mrs. Frances," Shane teased. I quickly backed away from the door and opened the fridge. It wasn't for a few more minutes yet that they came in, leaving me curious as to what they were talking about.

7:30 the following morning came too quickly as I was shoved awake by a frantic Caitlyn. This new trend of people frantically waking me up early in the morning seriously need to stop.

"What, Cait?!" I snapped finally waking up.

"I can't find my husband!" she practically screamed. I rolled over a bit and sure enough, Shane wasn't there either. "What if he changed his mind, Mitchie?" she freaked.

I rolled my eyes and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Chill, Shane's not in bed either… I'm _sure_ Nate didn't change his mind."

"Shane's probably with the twins!" Caitlyn whined.

"And Nate's probably with them…" I whined sarcastically.

The front door opening and closing alerted us that someone had just gotten in. Laughter was heard coming up the stairs as the group walked further into the house. I pushed Caitlyn out of my way and slipped on a pair of shorts under my t-shirt.

I made my way to the kitchen with Caitlyn right behind me. "Morning," Shane greeted as he fed Cecelia and walked around the kitchen.

"Mom! Dad!" I squealed running over to my parents who were seated at the table. Nate was with them, feeding Justin. I hugged my parents tightly for a moment before they hugged Caitlyn as well.

I turned to Nate and smacked the back of his head lightly. "Ow," he cried. "What was that for? And you almost made me drop Justin!"

"Giving your wife a panic attack which made her wake me up. Why is it every time I get to sleep late someone wakes me up?" I grumbled.

Nate smiled sheepishly. "We just went to get your parents!"

"Could've left a note," Caitlyn pouted.

"I'm sorry, baby," he replied leaning over to kiss her, Justin still in his arms.

Justin let go of his bottle and reached out for Caitlyn to take him. "Hey, little man," Caitlyn smiled as she took him and his bottle from Nate.

"She'll make a good mother someday," Mom commented to me.

"A far off someday if she has her way," I replied.

Mom looked at Caitlyn for a moment, then me. "Really? She seems like she can't wait to have her own."

I shrugged. "To each their own. Mine were an accident I'd repeat in a heartbeat, and Stas' was her choice. Caitlyn's will come when Caitlyn's ready. Don't try to convince to her have kids anytime soon, please," I begged my mother.

"I've got 1 of my daughters and a daughter-in-law married, in college, with kids. You think I want a 3rd to worry about, too?" she asked me. I mentally awed. It was nice to think that even if Mom and Anastasia weren't quite as close as Mom and Caitlyn, Jason was still just as much a son as Shane or Nate, making Anastasia at least a daughter-in-law.

Smiling teasingly, I replied, "It means more grandbabies for you to spoil and play with."

Mom didn't answer and quickly walked over to Dad.

"Hey, why weren't we invited to the party?" Riley asked sleepily as he and Kevin stumbled into the kitchen as well.

"Morning," everyone greeted.

"I never realized how big our house was," Caitlyn commented as she thought about all of the people stuffed into it.

"Grams had a big family to take care of," Nate shrugged.

"You guys are sooooo loud," Anastasia whined as she came into the kitchen, Jason trailing behind. "And I'm hungry. What are we doing for breakfast?"

"I think Nate and Shane should go get breakfast. I don't think we have enough found here to make breakfast for everyone and Stas," Caitlyn commented.

"Hey!" Anastasia objected to her words.

"Stop picking on Stas cause she's pregnant," Naomi yawned walking in. "Am I the last one up?" Everyone gave her a pointed look. "I mean besides Nicky. I know she's still out for another 2 hours at least."

"Yeah. We were just deciding what to do for breakfast. Shane and Nate were volunteered to go pick something up," I replied.

"Why us?" Shane asked.

"Because you're the only ones dressed and Nate knows the area," Anastasia answered. "Get going… the baby's hungry," she whined rubbing her stomach.

"God, you eat a lot," Nate mumbled as he headed to the living room.

"I heard that!" Anastasia yelled.

Caitlyn emerged from the shower and entered her bedroom, screaming slightly when she saw me sitting on her bed waiting. "Jesus, Mitchie, what are you doing?" she gasped.

"Waiting to help you into your dress," I answered.

"It's not a complicated dress, Mitchie," she laughed.

"I know, but I wanted to make sure you wore the right dress," I insisted.

"You know what dress I'm wearing…" she stated confused. "The light purple one…"

I grinned. "Exactly. I think you'd look much better in this one," I moved to her closet and pulled out the white dress I bought earlier in the week.

"You didn't!" she gasped.

"I did. Come on, Cait… it's perfect. And you deserve to have _some_ tradition with your wedding," I argued.

"Fine," she conceded as she slipped on the dress. "How do I look?"

"_Almost_ like a bride," I replied. I knew Caitlyn didn't want a veil in the first place, so instead we pinned her curls back with a jeweled barrette. "You look beautiful, Caitlyn," I smiled as we finished.

"I'm so happy you're here this time," she gushed hugging me tightly.

"Me, too. But no crying. We just finished our make-up!" I laughed.

"Right, right. Okay, I'm good. Go tell them I'm ready when they are?" she asked. I nodded and went to find Nate and the pastor.

Instead of holding flowers to walk down the aisle with, Anastasia and I each were holding one of my children. Caitlyn wanted her niece and nephew with us when she got married. Unfortunately, Marybeth wasn't able to attend because we couldn't let Nate's parents know about the wedding yet.

Dad walked Caitlyn down the aisle, beaming proudly. Caitlyn later admitted that it wouldn't have felt right for her own father to give her away. My dad was more of a father to her than hers was.

"Nathan Frances, do you still take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, willingly adhering to the vows you've already made?" the pastor asked. Everyone in attendance knew they were married already, we really just needed the pictures to show to the tabloids.

"I do," Nate smiled.

"And do you, Caitlyn Gellar, still take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, willingly adhering to the vows you've already made?" he asked Caitlyn.

"I do," Caitlyn answered.

"I bestow unto you the blessing of God with hope that your love remains this strongly for as long as you both shall live," he spoke to the 'newlyweds'. Turning to the rest of us, he announced, "You have witnessed the renewal of these persons vows. Let no one question their love for one another. I give to you, for the second time, Mr. & Mrs. Frances."

Three weeks later, Hot Tunes was playing in the background as I studied for a test. Being back in school was proving to be a little harder than I'd thought. Shane was out helping Kevin with something, so I was trying to get as much studying in while the babies napped as I could. I hadn't really been paying much attention to the TV, but the words 'Connect 3' caught my attention.

"It's true! Connect 3 member Nate Frances and long time girlfriend Caitlyn Gellar tied the knot 3 weeks ago in a private ceremony in their backyard in Pennsylvania. There's a child behind it, but it's not a new baby. Frances' 6 year old niece is the reason for the rushed nuptials. Nate and Caitlyn both have said they wanted to wait to adopt the orphaned little girl until they were married, and getting custody of her before that was proving to be impossible. While most of Connect 3 has been unavailable, Riley McCartney, a close family friend of Connect 3 who was present at the wedding says, 'They love Nate's niece like she were their own. They want what's best for her and what will make her happy. She herself as made it overwhelmingly clear, she only wants to live with Nate and Caitlyn.' We wish the newlyweds all the best and hope their adoption of the little girl goes as planned. In other baby news…"

I picked up my phone and called Riley. "Yellow?" he answered.

"Blue," I answered.

"Blue who?" he asked laughing slightly.

"Why are you crying?" I replied.

Chuckling, he asked, "What's up, Mitch?"

"You talked to Hot Tunes?" I asked. "About the wedding," I clarified.

"With a statement written by C3's publicist. Apparently, it seemed more real coming from someone not directly apart of Connect 3," he answered and I imagined him shrugging.

"Oh. Okay. Well, I have studying to do-" I started

"Hey, Mitchie, how's Nicky? I haven't really talked to her in a week…" he sighed.

I sighed as well. "I don't know, Riley. You'd have to ask Kevin or Shane. I'm busy with school."

"Oh, alright. Thanks anyway. I'll let you get back to studying. Bye," he said.

"Bye, Ri," I smiled as I hung up. "Riley, what have you gotten yourself into with Nicky this time?" I asked myself.

A small whimpering came through the baby monitor signaling one of my babies was awake. "Well, there goes studying," I groaned.

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Hope you liked it :D


	24. Chapter 23 D: An Update? Finally!

So, I keep getting sick, and they have no idea way. I get RA pain -which I supposedly was not diagnosed with- and my lungs keep dying. So! I have no idea whats wrong with me. And school+sick=notime. But, a lot of your awesome messages and reviews really spurred me into writing. I couldn't reply to you guys because I forgot my password for ff. . I had this planned but never got around to writing it. I'm sorry it's short. But, I think you'll like the plot moving forwardness. Finally, the next milestone. The chapters are going to really jump a lot from here, I think. Like, time wise. Anyway, thanks for everyone still reading this epic failure on my part. I promise if (when) I right a CR2 fic it will be not so drawn out and suckish. And no… I'm totally not plotting that already without having seen the movie. *shifty eyes*.

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Chapter 23:

College students with families really have a hard time. And by families, I don't mean my children. No, they had learned when Mommy put on Daddy's singing, it was time to be quite unless they needed something. I don't know how 6 months old babies caught on to that, but I wasn't complaining. No, by families, I meant my sister-in-law and her boyfriend.

Between endless phone calls from Riley and sporadic visits from Nicky, I was getting barely any studying done. Especially when Riley made his way into the tabloids: McCartney traveling with girlfriend? No, it wasn't Nicky in the pictures. It was his bassist's sister who was traveling with them, playing personal assistant for Riley's band.

I had just finished a long study session for one of my upcoming finals, and wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with Shane and sleep. Instead, I came home to Nicky pacing my living room, gesturing wildly, while Shane sat on the couch looking bored to death. The definitive smell of something having burned filled the air as well.

"Finally!" Nicky huffed as I walked into the apartment.

"Excuse me?" I asked, slightly taken back by her tone.

"Where've you been so late on a Tuesday night?" she demanded.

I ignored her and walked into the kitchen. "Babe, is dinner in the microwave or oven?" I asked Shane over my shoulder.

"Seriously, where were you?" Nicky asked again.

"The trash can. Nicky distracted me and I forget to turn off the oven to just keep it warm and ended up burning it," he huffed, glaring at his sister.

"Well, it's still early enough to order Chinese? Our study group was going to order some because it was late and they were hungry, but I had to get home. I'm so tired and I missed you and the babies all day," I sighed.

Shane stood up to grab the phone and started dialing. "The usual?" he asked me. I nodded. "You want anything, Nicky?"

"An answer," she shot back. "And Sweet and Sour chicken."

"Okay, this is not about me being out at a study session all night, Nicky, so don't even start. This is about Riley -Lord knows why this time- but ever since you found out about Becky being on tour with him you've been coming over here to bad mouth her, and question Riley's intentions with her, etc. And then once the magazine article about them ran you've been badmouthing Riley, claiming he's lying to you, etc. So what is it this time, Nicky, please, tell me, so I can tell you're wrong and go snuggle with my husband."

Shane turned to me as he hung up the phone. "Watch a movie or you want me to read to you?" he asked. Since my last trimester, I'd begun reading a lot more. But lately found myself too tired to keep my eyes open long enough to read.

"I don't care," I replied honestly. "Anyway, Nicky?"

"She _answered_ his phone," she huffed. "I called him and _she_ answered."

"Did you ask why she answered?" I asked.

"She said he was in the bathroom and didn't want me to think he was ignoring me. But I _know_ she only did it to remind me that she sees him all the time and I don't. That he's _with_ her all the time!" she relayed.

"Nicky, prior to Becky appearing, you were ignoring Riley again, out with a different guy every week, and he was calling me to make sure you weren't going back on your end of the deal. That there was nothing serious on your end. You're only pulling this crap because you're jealous!"

"Because my boyfriend-" she started.

"He's not your boyfriend," Shane pointed out. "_You_ didn't want to be tied down to him yet."

I continued where he left off. "Therefore, you have no reason to be jealous. In fact you're just getting a dose of your own medicine. He's doing to you what you do to him," I pointed out.

"Oh my god, you're so right!" Nicky exclaimed. "He's just using her to make me jealous so I fold and tell him I want to be exclusive with him! Ha, he thinks he's so smart!" With a satisfied smirk, she took out her phone and went to sit on the couch.

"My sister is an idiot," Shane sighed.

"Agreed. What's your reason, cause I have many," I replied.

"Riley's using Becky as a distraction from Nicky. He's not hooking up with her at _all. _She's dating Ri's drummer, which her brother doesn't know about, making Riley her cover," he replied.

"All of which you know and I know, but she doesn't know," I chuckled.

"You are! Just admit it!" Nicky yelled. After a pause, she continued. "I don't believe you. You're just trying to manipulate me."

The doorbell rang and Shane jumped up from the kitchen table to get it. "Food!" he exclaimed happily as he opened the door.

"You are breaking our agreement! Maybe I should start seeing someone so religiously!" After a short pause she added, "Other than you, Riley!"

I groaned and leaned against Shane's hip as he placed our food on the table. "If she wakes up the babies, she's so on baby duty all night." He chuckled as he sat down.

"I know we've been through this a thousand times, but you don't regret being with only me before we got married, do you?"

"Sometimes I wonder if I would have found someone else just as perfect for me if we had gone our own ways at one point, but then I realize that they wouldn't be perfect because I'd probably compare them to you all the time. And I think we would have wasted a lot of time like those two. And we wouldn't have our beautiful babies," I answered honestly. Shane simply leaned over and kissed me before continuing to eat. "What about you? You ever wish you tested the waters a little more first?"

"I tested the waters before I met you and I found a shark who tried to kill me," he replied seriously before stuffing a piece of chicken in his mouth.

"Point taken," I giggled.

Shane was quiet for a few moments before he spoke, startling me slightly. Despite the argument occurring in our living room, a comfortable silence had hung between us. "You know, sometimes, especially after we had the twins, I think about what it would have been like if she had been pregnant back then. What my life would be like now. Would I have been as good of a father? Would we still be together? Would my career be half as strong as it is now? Would I be happy?"

I chuckled as I placed my hand on his. "You would have been an amazing father regardless. You saw what your father was like and you would never have been like that. And the fact that the last thing you thought about was your happiness just proves that you would have done whatever you had to if that's how life played out."

"I'm glad the only children I have are with you," he whispered, lifting my hand to kiss it.

"The only children you ever have better be with only me," I teased leaning in to kiss him.

The yelling in the background had stopped and a scoffed soon followed the silence as Nicky entered the kitchen. "Are you two ever not cutesy anymore?"

"Are we not allowed to be happily married?" Shane asked. Nicky had a comment on the tip of her tongue but Shane cut her off. "Don't even, Nicole."

"So, Riley _claims_ he's just friends with Becky and isn't going to stop hanging out with her because I'm jealous, though I wouldn't admit to being jealous-" Nicky began.

"You don't have to admit to it. It's obvious," Shane interjected.

"Shut up! Anyway. He says that as long as we aren't exclusively together, he feels no guilt about being friends with a girl that makes me feel insecure. I mean, she doesn't make me insecure, because I'm so much better, but they're relationship worries me. Why am I holding myself back for someone who's practically going steady with another girl?" she continued.

"Because you love him and the only reason you're 'holding yourself back' is because you don't want to be in a serious relationship with him, nor someone who won't understand you and Riley," I answered.

Growing tired of the Nicky-Riley drama, I turned to Shane. "Did Nate call at all? Caitlyn told me at lunch that they should be hearing from their lawyer today."

"Mhm," he answered with a mouthful. He swallowed and continued, "He said that the first hearing is set for two weeks from tomorrow and things look good. The moment she sees 'Uncle Nate' her eyes light up, and Children's Services have seen that."

"That's good news. Caitlyn hasn't been herself lately from all of this," I sighed.

"You don't think she's…" Shane trailed off.

"She's on her period at the moment, Shane. I don't think she's pregnant," I laughed.

"Could've done without that tidbit," he shuddered.

"Speaking of pregnant," Nicky started, causing Shane to drop his fork. "How's Stas?"

Shane glared at her while clutching his chest. "Never. Start. A sentence. Like that. Again," he growled.

"She's good. Ready to burst. She's got a few weeks left, but the doctor's thin she's going to deliver early. The baby's fully developed already and starting to kick extra hard," I answered with a smile.

Shane laughed. "Jason got kicked in the back the other day when Stas rolled over and her stomach was against his back."

We continued to talk about the current goings on of our lives and our friends' while we ate. I finished first and excused myself. I was in the process of getting undressed when I heard the front door close and Shane pad into our bedroom.

"I cannot _wait_ until you're done with exams and you have a few weeks off," he said softly, his eyes roaming my barely covered body.

Cranky and irritable, I snapped back, "Why, are you feeling neglected?" He sighed but said nothing back as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "I'm sorry, that was wrong for me to say."

"You're stressed," he replied kissing my neck. It felt really good and I felt myself leaning back against him. "And I want to release some of that stress. But you're too tired, so I can't."

"Mmm," I sighed. "I would _love_ to have sex with you right now…" I groaned.

"But you're too tired," he finished with a small smile. "At this rate you won't have to worry about getting pregnant until after school again."

I made a small humph noise as I turned around in his arms. "There's always the summer," I teased.

"Now _that_ makes it sound like you want another baby…" he teased back.

"I'm getting nostalgic. I have been. Seeing Stas so pregnant and Jason so… serious yet more frazzled than I've ever seen him makes me think of when I was pregnant with the twins. I don't want another baby right now, but part of me kinda misses the whole, being pregnant part," I answered.

"You hated being pregnant," he argued.

I shrugged. "Not really. I was a little miserable, but compared to birthing, I'll take pregnancy," I laughed.

"Okay, enough talk of you being pregnant before I see to that happening again very soon," he replied, letting go of me and heading to his side of the bed.

"Do you want another baby?" I asked curiously as I made my way to my own side. I climbed in while watching him undress.

"When the twins are like a year old, yeah, I wouldn't mind," he answered pulling down the blankets. He took my hands in his and assured me, "But I know that's not what you want. You want to wait and by no means am I going to pressure you."

"Good. But we can lots of practice in on the off season," I replied leaning over to kiss him.

He chuckled. "Meaning trying-for-a-baby-season or school-season?"

"Both," I groaned, snuggling down into my pillows.

"You still want me to read?" he asked, picking up my book of his nightstand. I shrugged, moving to cuddle into his side. He kissed the top of my head and began reading to me. Soon, I was asleep, not registering anything but his gentle voice lulling me.

I yawned as I stood in line at the café on campus. Early morning classes didn't usually bother me from being up with the twins, but lately I couldn't seem to get enough sleep. Today in particular I was so tired I forgot my normal traveling mug of coffee on the counter next to the babies' formula mix.

"Hey, you're Mitchie, right?" I heard a guy's voice from behind me. I turned my head to find an extremely attractive blonde guy.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I'm Quinton. I think I'm in your Music Composition class? It's in 20 minutes?" he offered.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm barely ever awake in that class. But it's nice to meet you," I smiled. I was next in line and turned to order my coffee. I reached into my purse to retrieve my wallet only to find it not there. I had taken it out to give Shane our insurance card for the twins check up that morning. I had a class so I wouldn't be able to go. "Oh, crap. Never mind, I'm sorry, I forgot my wallet," I apologized to the barista.

"I got it," Quinton offered, ordering his own coffee and paying.

"Um, thank you. I can't seem to remember anything today!" I chuckled. "First I forgot my coffee, now I forgot my wallet."

"Well, let's not chance you forgetting where class is. Shall we?" he asked gestured towards our class. I chuckled and headed off towards class with him. "So, that final project… I am not all comfortable with turning it in," he admitted.

"I'm good with the basics, but I tend to need my best friend and her husband to help me with the harder stuff. I'm determined to not going running to Nate or Cait for help unless I absolutely need it," I replied.

"Well, maybe we can help each other? What time do you usually eat lunch today?" he asked.

I mentally ran through my schedule for the day. "Well, I have another class right after this one, so usually after that. So about 12-12:15. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go over some stuff over lunch?" he suggested.

"Sounds good. It's a nice day, why don't we eat outside?" I suggested. It was surprising weather for the middle of April, already up in the 50s. I wanted to enjoy the rare day while it lasted.

"Excellent. By the big oak tree?" he asked. I nodded as we entered the classroom. I smiled at him once more before heading to my usual seat.

I couldn't eat lunch, as I didn't have my wallet, but realized I wasn't all that hungry anyway as I sat down at the table. Perhaps it was the notion of the school's food that did that though, as was slightly hungry until passing the cafeteria.

Quinton sat down, immediately offering to buy me lunch,. I dismissed him, assuring him I wasn't hungry and that I'd had a big breakfast, which I had. Shane made pancakes while I fed the twins. Instead, I started looking over his project while he ate.

"This is good so far. It reminds me of my friend Peggy's style," I commented. "But I think you go from slow to fast with no transition. It's not like the beat steadily builds or almost stops before it hits. You have a steady rhythm and then the next note there's so much more going on."

"So, should I increase the beat or let the beat drop?" he asked, leaning over the table.

I looked up slightly startled to find him so close. I stuttered for a moment but was saved from my embarrassment by Caitlyn, who sat down next to me groaning. "Hey, Cait," I spoke up quickly. "Quinton, this is my friend Caitlyn I mentioned. Cait, this is Quinton from my Music Composition class."

"Right, the married one," Quinton nodded.

"Actually, both my best friends are married," I chuckled. Caitlyn looked between Quinton and I for a moment, a knowing look slowly growing on her face.

"So, is this a lunch date?" she asked curiously.

Quinton opened his mouth but I answered absently, "We were working on our final projects. Here, maybe you can help," I pushed the sheet music towards her. "We were just discussing if he should build the beat or let it drop before he gets to all of this going on."

Caitlyn nodded, her knowing smile never faltering as she looked over the music. Quinton began asking me questions about myself, and with each one, Caitlyn's smile grew, slowly turning into a smirk.

I was just about to answer what my favorite band was when I heard the sound of stroller wheels. My face lit up seeing Shane pushing the twins towards our table. "Speak of the devil," I smiled. "Well, 1/3 of them." Caitlyn was now trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Hey," Shane greeted as he stopped the stroller next to me.

"Hi, babies," I cooed at them. Cecelia made a sound that sounded vaguely like dada while Justin gurgled happily.

"What about me?" Shane pouted. "I even brought you food!" I chuckled and stood up to kiss him. Caitlyn let out a snort I paid no mind to. "Hey, Cait! I brought you some food, too. Nate's worried you aren't eating right." Caitlyn couldn't answer from her barely contained laughter.

"How'd their appointment go?" I asked.

"They're perfectly fine. Cecelia is close to saying her first word. Justin is gesturing to things he wants, which is a little advanced, but he's not as verbal as his sister. The Dr. said that it's normal for twins to be behind on their language skills and suggested some things to help Justin start making more noise and closer to speaking," Shane relayed, sitting next to Quinton, but on the edge facing the babies.

I reached for Justin while Shane picked up Cecelia. "Hey there, Handsome. You miss Mommy today?" I asked.

"Y-you have kids?" Quinton stuttered. "I didn't realize you had a boyfriend."

My eyebrows furrowed as Caitlyn's laughter started escaping more. "I'm Mitchie's husband, Shane," he introduced. "This little angel is our daughter Cecelia, that's our son Justin." Cecelia whimpered as Shane shifted her so Quinton could look at her. "Oh, yeah, and Cecelia doesn't like strangers anymore," Shane added. "She started screaming when the nurse picked her up to weigh her."

"Aww, Angel," I spoke softly, rubbing her little back across the table. "And I'm sorry, Quinton, I didn't think you'd want to hear about my twins. Apparently I never shut up about them, so I make a conscious effort not to talk about them."

"N-not a problem. You know what, I have another class, I'll see you next class," he stammered before taking off.

"Oh my god!" Caitlyn finally burst, laughing hysterically. "Mitchie! He thought this was a lunch date!" she gasped.

"It was not. He wanted to work on our projects," I defended.

"No, he thought it was a date. If you had seen his face when I sat down… and then when you kissed Shane… oh… my god!" she continued to laugh.

"You didn't realize a guy was asking you out?" Shane asked.

"I'm married! I don't notice these things anymore!" I defended.

"You really didn't know?" he asked again.

I reached over and grabbed his hand. "I promise. He's so not my type anyway. Oh my god!" I gasped, suddenly realizing why he'd been leaning closer to me early. "God, I'm an idiot sometimes."

"Don't worry, he's a bigger one. How anyone misses this rock amazes me," Caitlyn offered, tapping my wedding rings. "And his music composing sucks."

I nodded in agreement. "That the project you've been bugging Nate with?" Shane asked smirking.

"Yeah," I smiled. "He's much better at piano composition than you are, hun."

"I'd be going to Nate for help over me, too, trust me," he chuckled. "You have anymore classes or…?" he asked.

"Nope. I was going to go the library because I have a study group tonight at 6 but… I'm so exhausted I don't want to go," I sighed.

"Well , then why don't we go home and you can take a much needed nap?" Shane offered.

"What about your car?" Caitlyn asked.

"Shane dropped me off this morning because he had to take the twins to the doctor's," I answered, already gathering my things.

"Well, I have a class to get to soon. I'll see you two tomorrow night for dinner," Caitlyn replied, heading off to class.

"Who's hosting dinner again?" Shane asked, grabbing my bag and books since I was pushing the carriage.

I glared at him. "I've been telling you this for the last 2 weeks. We are!" I huffed.

In an effort to stay close, every two weeks the 5 of us in Massachusetts got together for dinner at someone's apartment. Occasionally, Nate would be up from Pennsylvania to visit his wife. This week was at ours. Could my husband remember that? Not at all.

As I came in from class the next afternoon, I found my husband cleaning the bathroom while the twins were in their donut cushions (the pillows to help them sit upright) in the hallway in front of him. "Didn't you just clean the bathroom two days ago?" I asked, dropping my bag by the couch before sitting on the floor with my children.

"We have company coming," he shrugged.

I smiled at him with a raised eyebrow. "We have Caitlyn, Jason, and Stas coming. That's not company. That's family," I argued.

"Either way. I felt like it needed a quick cleaning. I mostly just cleaned the toilet and the sink," he replied, standing up off of the floor. "Oh, and it's just Caitlyn coming over. Jason called after I started the bathroom. Stas hasn't been feeling well and the doctor wants her on bed rest incase the baby comes early. Something about the development so far ahead and a possible C-section next week, I don't know."

"At least her child isn't premature," I said with a thankful smile as I brushed Cecelia's hair back. "They said the baby developed two weeks faster than most."

"Yeah. So, would you be mad if I went into the studio tomorrow? I can take the twins with me if you have homework to do, but Nate wants me to give him basic melodies and lyrics for some songs for the next album."

"Shane, you can go to the studio," I replied, sounding confused. He didn't need my permission to do anything. "You've put your career on the backburner enough since the twins were born. How long are you gonna be there, though? I don't want the twins there for more than 4 hours being watched by a secretary. You know what, go to the studio tomorrow, I'll watch the babies and padlock the door so your sister can't bother me."

Shane started, "Are you sure? I can-"

"Shane, you've gone to the studio to work on other people's music, why would I fight you on going to work on your own? I'm happy to watch the twins if it means you're working on the next album. Finals are next week and then I'm yours until September," I smiled.

"Next album means not as much time with my family… and I thought you were taking summer classes?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I'd rather play with my kids," she shrugged. "Besides, that gives you the summer off to work on your next album."

"But if you're taking the summer off I'd rather…" he trailed off.

"You can't work in the studio _and _please your wife?" I taunted.

"Keep it up and I'll please you right now before Cait gets here," he shot back pointing a sponge in my direction. I giggled and just smiled at him.

Instead of making dinner, the three of us decided to pig out on pizza. Jason had Anastasia 'eating healthy' and we'd been trying to be supportive of her, eating healthy as well. Caitlyn and I were trying to see who could eat a piece faster just as the phone rang. We were laughing and trying not to choke while Shane answered the phone.

"Sup, Jase?" he greeted. Caitlyn and I froze, feeling guilty for eating pizza all of a sudden. "No way! That's great! I can't imagine she wanted a C-section."

"What do you thinks going on?" Caitlyn whispered to me, though Shane was on the other side of the room.

I shrugged. "Maybe she's gonna stick it out and wait for the baby to come?"

Caitlyn nodded. "Instead of a c-section? Probably. Or, can't they induce labor?"

"Oh yeah… maybe. At least she won't have ugly scars?" I shrugged again.

Shane hung up and grinned at us. "Stas went into labor!"

"Went? Or they induced?" I asked.

"She was having contractions, they went to the doctor to get it checked out, and her water broke in the office," he explained.

"Does she want us there?" Caitlyn asked.

With a straight face, Shane answered, "No." Our faces fell, believing him to be serious. "I can't believe you fell for that," he chuckled. "The hospitals not far from here, so Jason's gonna call when she goes into labor if you two want to wait before rushing over there."

Caitlyn and I shared fidgety looks. We didn't want to stay, we wanted to go. "I guess we could wait a bit…" I agreed sadly.

"Or you can go now, and I'll meet you guys there once I get a baby sitter for the twins," Shane sighed laughing.

Caitlyn and I were half way out of the door before he could blink. I heard a faint chuckle as we closed the door.

It wasn't too many hours later that the new father and 3 of his best friends were huddled around the nursery glass looking at Danika Jasmine Bishop. She was so precious. Jason was glowing with happiness. I'd never seen him so happy. "She's perfect, Jase," Shane whispered.

"She's more than perfect. She's mine. Mine and Stas'," he answered smiling. Though it seemed unlikely so many years ago, to see them now, to ever think Jason, Nate or Shane would make a bad father was a silly thought.

I really do love you guys. Now that Danika is born, happy times seem to be looming. But are they for everyone? And yes, Stas had the baby early, but it wasn't like premature, it was fully developed. Her water broke naturally and the baby wasn't a premie like the twins.


End file.
